Attack of the mini Cupids
by Slytherin Head
Summary: When Harry,Minerva, and Albus decide to play Cupid for Severus can he escape the horror's of their plans? Or will he fall prey to their attack? who knows... but Peeves is enjoying the show and giving a helping hand.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer- As usual this does not belong to me. JKR owns the whole thing. I'm just borrowing them for my own evil plans. I promise to put everyone back where they belong after an expensive dinner. If I could keep Snape then I would. **_

_**This is my first fanfic so reviews are welcome with open arms. i'll need them to make this story worth reading. This is going to be a chapter story so you see how the reviews will help. **_

** Harry's view**

Harry Potter was an idiot and most fortunately he knew it. Yet it wasn't enough. It didn't stop him from breaking curfew (once again) and it didn't stop him from making (most successfully) a batch of love potion. It also didn't stop him from asking, a most enthusiastic, Dobby to sneak it into the Arithmacy teacher's morning coffee. Nope stupidity would never stop The-Boy-Who-Won't-Mind-His-Own-Business.

Now that the War was over and Voldy was long gone, Harry Potter because very sure of himself. Because of this development he found himself thinking that he could solve everyone's problems. Whether they knew they had a problem or not. So it came about that during the Winter Break Harry decided that his beloved and father figure Severus Snape need his other half, his amore, his Chiquita, his…oh hell he needed a wife to love him.

The only problem was that, to put it in simple terms, Severus Snape was still an evil git. He was also crazy smart, one hell of a powerful wizard, an ex-spy, and had a tongue sharper than a cutting knife. Not exactly prince charming or Gilderoy Lockhart (thank Merlin). The Potion Master hardly ever showed any sort of human emotion. Harry was proud to know that he was able to bring some emotions, if any, to the man's life. For example near the end of his sixth year Harry called Snape a coward. There was or sure a large amount of emotion from the Potion Master at being called such a thing. Then there were also the many times that the Golden Trio had been caught at the scene of the crime. Those were the times when Snape would smile, if only for a brief period of time, before the Trio was declared free of all charges.

But now Harry wanted to do something really nice for Severus. He couldn't take credit for saving him during the Final Battle when Nagini decided to make a chew toy out of Snape's neck. Hermione was the only one who had her wits about enough to administer some anti-venom she herself had improved and healing his neck with some Phoenix tears before they dashed off back to Hogwarts. He couldn't take credit for avenging his professor; Neville saw to it that Nagini never got another treat. Harry didn't even get a chance to be near Severus at St. Mungo's because there were so many trails for all the Death Eathers that has been capture. Although he could take credit for clearing Snape's name from all charges including the murder of Albus Dumbledore. He wished dearly that he could have taken credit for taking care of Snape after he woke up from his coma, But once again Hermione had beat him to it, although he did tried to help as much as possible. He even had Snape moved from the hospital to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, so he could be taken care of better, since there were going to be a lot of people there to look after him. Harry did get to help out sometimes and because of that he feels certain that he has formed a small friendship with the Potion Mater.

One would think that coming out of a war alive would cheer a fellow up. One would also think that having eluded the Hitler of Wizards would boost up his ego, but no, Severus Snape was the same as ever. Because of this Harry has been afraid that the Potion Master will forever be alone with out a family. He knew that it was a horrible way to live and that now than ever Snape needed a family. Not just friends, but a real family, and nothing like the one he had as a child either.

Harry has been thinking and doing much observation of the sulky man to come up with the perfect woman for him. Almost everything was set for what Harry liked to call: Operation find Severus a woman. Yes not the brightest names but this is Harry Potter we are talking about.

The Problem: A lonely Potion Master.

The Solution: Total makeover for Snape and find him a girlfriend.

What's so hard about that?

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A/N- Chiquita- is Spanish for Little. But it is also used as a sweet name, like 'dear', 'love', sweetheart'.

I know this was a short chapter but i promise to make them longer. But you guys know how it is... the plot bunnies sometimes wont bite.

so what do you think? Will Harry be able to pull it off?


	2. Chapter 2 Intrusions

_**Disclaimer- I don't own this and never will. JKR is the only ruler of the Potter world. I make no money from this and never will. I'm just borrowing them for my own evil plans. If I could keep Snape then I would. **_

_**I know I had promised you guy's the story yesterday but I was un-encouraged to do anything. I'm sorry. I hope this makes it up to you! This chapter might be a little more angst than humorous, so sorry about that. I'll work harder to make them more humorous. **_

Intrusions.

He was alive. He has survived the War. Most importantly, he was finally a free man, free of masters who did nothing but rob him of any life he had hoped to have. Yes, he was alive; the only problem was that he hadn't expected to make out alive. He hadn't expected to survive the war. Most importantly, he hadn't expected to be a free man at last.

Severus had been certain that his end had come when he was bitten by Nagini. It was nothing but rotten luck that the oh so "sane" Dark Lord thought he need to kill Severus to obtain the Elder Wand. Yet it appears that the Fates had other plans for him, so they let him lived. What those plans were, they weren't letting him on them. It didn't matter how many times he asked. They weren't telling him nothing, nada, zilch. "Oh well," Severus thought to himself, "at least now I'll have some peace and quiet."

After spending almost a year recovering from Nagini's attack Severus was finally where he wanted to be, Hogwarts. To him it was a total miracle that he had been cleared from all charges and was back as Head of Slytherin house, Potion Master and also Deputy Headmaster. He had been more than happy to know that Minerva would be taking over as Headmistress. Merlin knew that woman deserved to have the position. After what had happened to Albus she had been Headmistress for only a couple of months before he was placed as the new Headmaster. Severus had felt a little bad for that, Minerva was almost like a mother to him and the fact he had caused her so much pain bothered him the whole year as Headmaster. But now things were back to normal and everyone was where they were suppose to be.

Severus looked at the clock in his office and stood. He had told Minerva that he needed to talk to her; it was the night after almost everyone in the castle left for Winter Break, so he knew they would not be disturbed. All of his Slytherins had gone home for the break so none of his students would be looking for him. Gathering some Floo powder he threw it into the flames and called out, "Headmistress McGonagall's office," and stuck his head into the fire.

"Severus, how lovely to see you! What can I do for you lad?" McGonagall asked as she moved towards the fireplace.

"Good evening Headmistress, as I mentioned earlier I need to talk to you, may I please come through?" Severus asked.

"But of course my lad, come through." Minerva said as she made her way back to her desk to give Severus room to come through.

As Severus pulled back stand and go through the Floo he wondered what he hated more, being called "dear boy" by Albus or being called "lad" by Minerva. Either way he knew that no matter how many evil glares he threw at them they would never stop. At least Minerva didn't offer him Lemon drops; he hated those things with a passion. Giving himself a mental shake Severus made his way through the Floo.

"There must be a better way to travel around the castle with out getting soot all over the place." Severus grumbled as he stood in front of the fire place and dusted himself off.

Minerva gave a small laugh and said, "Yes, I'm certain that the house -elves think the same thing. Soot is just a nightmare to remove from the rugs, even with magic. Please take a seat Severus would you like a something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Firewiskey? Juice?

"Juice will do, thank you." He replied. Accepting the glass of cold pumpkin he made himself more comfy in his chair.

"So my lad, what brings you to visit this old woman? Surely you would have taken a chance to drop by Hogsmeade and enjoy yourself."

'Yup, definitely hate being called a lad.' He thought. Severus knew that if he didn't tell her what he knew she wanted to hear then he wouldn't get the help he needed from her. "Actually Minerva, if it wasn't for Madame Pomfrey, that's exactly where I would be. But she thinks I am still too thin and not strong enough to venture outside the castle walls. The reason that I'm here is to talk to you about something that has been bothering me since the start of the school year."

Minerva gave him a look down as he sat in front of her desk and thought, 'Yes, I can agree you're still far too thin, my boy.' Clearing her throat she said, "And what exactly is it that has been bothering you Severus?"

"Harry Potter." He said bluntly.

"Harry Potter?" Minerva repeated

"Has your age finally caught up with you Minerva? Yes, I said Harry Potter." Severus knew he was in trouble when Minerva just gave him a cold look. He knew it was the look that said, "Watch what you say or pay". It was his turn to clear his throat and said, "I'm sorry Minerva. That was tactful of me to say that."

"Apology accepted lad," turning her gaze to a motherly one she continued, "now, what is it about Harry that's bothering you?"

"He won't leave me alone." Severus looked at Minerva expecting some understanding or some sort of emotion that wasn't laughter or pity. As always he was disappointed in the response from Minerva.

'Oh I shouldn't laugh.' Minerva thought. Severus on the other hand was glaring daggers at her daring her to laugh. Fortunately for her Minerva had enough grace to convert the laughter that was threatening to erupt into a fit of coughing. When she finally managed to pull herself together she looked at the young man sitting across from her and said, "How is it that Harry wont leave you alone Severus? Surely you would have told him by now to stop. Or are you losing your touch?"

Narrowing his eyes at her he said through clenched teeth, "He follows me around the castle all the time, tries to make conversations and keeps asking me for advise towards his career. But worst of all he comes to me every time he has had a fight with young Miss Weasley. Minerva if he keeps this up I will not be held accountable for my actions nor the injuries he is most likely to come across in my presence."

"Now, now, Severus the boy is obviously in awe with you. I would be even bold enough to say that he might just look at you as a father figure."

"And why would he do such a thing?" He sneered, "Especially with people like Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hagrid, Mad-eye, and Lupin around to play daddy for him."

Minerva laughed and immediately held up five fingers representing the five men mentioned and ticked them off one by one with an explanation. "Arthur Weasley is already the father of seven children, six boys one girl, and soon to be grandfather. When would there be time for Harry? Kingsley Shacklebolt is too close to the Ministry and besides Harry has already said he looks up to him like a big brother." Severus sat watching Minerva find fault at the men he had mentioned and could swear that her eyes were beginning to twinkle. 'Damn Albus' He thought, and continued to listen to Minerva. "Hagrid would be a great father but can we be certain that he won't buy some monster for Harry to keep as a pet? Alastor Moody would become instantly paranoid with suspicion were Harry to approach him and telling him he was like a father to him. As for Remus, well he is already a father and will probably have more children come the years. Besides, Harry also sees him as a big brother. So that leaves you Severus, what's so bad about being regarded as a father?"

Severus could swear the twinkling was growing more and more. Sitting up straighter in his chair he said as calmly as he could, "Minerva clearly, you of all people could see that I am not capable of being anything of a father figure. My favorite pass times are making the first years cry, catching hormonal teenagers in the Astronomy tower…stop smiling at me like that this is serious Minerva!"

Shaking her head she looked at Severus with as much warmth in her eyes as she could gather and said, "You don't give yourself enough credit Severus. All of your favorite pass times are what fathers do! I think you would make a wonderful father and…"

"You failed to note one thing Minerva," he interrupted her coldly, "that in order for me to be able to become that wonderful father I would have to be married and actually _have _a child. For all of that to even begin to happen I would obviously need a girlfriend or be the victim of a Marriage Law. Sine neither of those are ever going to happen I'm afraid that 'wonderful father' is dead. Now since it's obvious you wont help me I'll take my leave." Severus pushed his un-drunk juice aside and stood making his way towards the fireplace. Taking some Floo from a tray he threw it into the fire place. Before stepping into the flames he looked over his shoulder at Minerva and said, "Goodnight Headmistress." Then stepped into the fire calling out Severus Snape's office."

After a moment of silence Minerva turned her chair to face Albus' portrait with tears in her eyes. Albus no longer pretended to be asleep and looked down at Minerva. A sad smile on his face, but his eyes were twinkling like mad.

"Don't worry my dear Minerva. I'm certain things are about to being turning around for our dear Severus. Now that the war is over he truly deserves to live and be happy. "

"I know Albus. I'm just afraid he will become even more secluded now that he is free from being a spy. I want to see him happy; we just have to make him understand that he deserves it and that it's not too late to start a family. Both you and I have seen his physical scars. Merlin only knows how many he has emotionally. I for one hope that Harry continues seeking out Severus."

"Perhaps you should talk to Harry, Minerva. See what the boy is up to and try to help him out. We'll need all the help we can get to help Severus."

"Don't worry Albus," Minerva said with a small chuckle, "this situation has officially become a mission now."

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Severus made his way to his rooms slamming his office door as hard as possible. "Who does she think she is?!" He said angrily as he made his way to the liquor cabinet. "How dare she suggest that I, Severus Snape, play daddy for Harry bleeding Potter?" He poured a shot of Firewiskey and drained the glass. Pouring himself a another more generous glass he sat down in his favorite chair. 'Besides,' he thought, 'even if I did want a family, who would be crazy enough to love me?' Drinking the liquor in two gulps he poured himself glass after glass until he was almost completely gone and the bottle was empty. Giving up on trying to make it to his bedroom he decided that the couch was a safer bet. Before drifting off into what he knew was going to be one hell of a hangover he made a plan to deal with Potter and Minerva (and possibly Albus, that meddlesome fool hasn't let death stop him from sticking his nose where it doesn't belong) to stop them from barging into his life.

The Problem: Minerva, Albus and Potter

The solution: Stay in the dungeons at all times, no visitors.

How hard could that be?

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_**A/N- So for this story everyone who was good is alive, well with the exception of Dumbledore. I needed him to stay dead. More fun! If there are any typos sorry. I re-read everything but still some stuff might escape me. Please review! Thanks and have a great weekend! **_

_**P.S. - only four more days till the Half-Blood Prince comes out! Yay.**_


	3. Chapter 3 deja Vu sort of

_**Disclaimer- I don't own this and never will. JKR is the only ruler of the Potter world. I make no money from this and**** never will. I'm just borrowing them for my own evil plans. If I could keep Snape then I would. **_

_**A/N- Sorry if this chapter is boring but Poppy wouldn't leave me alone until she had her say. Oh well. Italics mean flash backs. **_

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Déjà vu…sort of.

The next morning Severus woke up on the floor of his rooms near the couch, feeling like Grawp had thrown him around the Forbidden Forest he slowly made his way to his favorite chair and closed his eyes. Just as he was about to fall asleep once again his fire place came to life making his head feel like it was seconds away from exploding into millions of pieces.

"Severus Tobias Snape!" Madame Pomfrey cried once she was out of the fireplace, "are you drunk?!"

Severus recoiled and tried to stand and make it to his bedroom. Far way from what sounded and looked like a very, very angry Healer. "Hush woman! Else the whole bloody castle will hear you!"

Poppy looked around the room and saw the empty bottle of Firewskey on the coffee table, that confirmed what her nose was telling her the moment that she stepped through the Floo. She made a decision, she thought that he wouldn't be stupid enough to disobey her order but apparently she was mistaken. Not waiting to stand around for an answer that she knew would never come but she could obviously smell. Madame Pomfrey made her way towards the retreating form of Severus and caught him by the ear.

"Ow! Let go woman! Who do you think…ow!"

Getting a good grip of his ear she made her way to his bathroom with him trying to squirm out of her grasp. "Stop squirming Severus! You're just going to get hurt." With a flick of her wand she had the shower running, she then pushed him inside the shower, fully clothed, into the jets of freezing water. Who knew she had so much strength?

"Now listen here Snape," she said calmly as she kept him from getting out of the shower, " you're under my care and I remember specifically telling you that you were not allowed to drink a single drop of both caffeine and liquor."

"Bloody hell! Let go you daft woman. I'll catch my death in here!"

"The same thing could have happened with all the liquor you drank yet you're still alive so I doubt that you'll catch your death." Finally taking pity on him after watching him struggle to not let his teeth chatter she warmed the water up. "Now clean up. I'll be waiting for you in your sitting room."

Twenty minutes later, after he hurled everything in his stomach and taken a decent shower, Severus was standing in his sitting rooms while Poppy did her daily check up of his health. By now he was used to them but at the beginning he gave all the hell and fury he could gather at both Poppy and that know-it-all Granger. How that girl ended up taking care of him during his earlier stages of recovery was beyond him.

_"Severus! For the love of Merlin open the door!" Poppy screamed as she tried pounding the door down when they discovered he had magically locked the door the first chance he got. _

_"Go away Poppy and take the Granger girl with you. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself without any help." _

_Hermione was standing with Madame Pomfrey as they both tried to open the door. She knew that it had been a bad idea to leave the Potion Master alone even for a minute. She hated to think what kind of mood he will be in when he discovers where exactly he was. She stopped pounding on the door and decided on another tactic to get him to open his door. Surely he must see that he truly is in no condition to look after himself. "Professor Snape please open the door. You're in no condition to be left alone. Your wounds aren't fully healed yet, and you've lost to much body muscle to move around on your own. There is no way that we are leaving you alone."_

_Muffle cursing could be heard in the room that Severus was using and Hermione thought she heard something that sounded like "know-it-all bushy haired Gryffindor." There was a moment of silence followed immediately by two sounds. Hermione tried to figure out what the first sound was but knew that the last one was the sound of something (or someone) falling and hitting the ground. Not feeling magic around the door both witches looked at each other and pulled out their wands. Madame Pomfrey opened the door carefully in case they found themselves having to duck hexes. Once they were sure that nothing was going to hit them they made their way to the bed Severus was using. On the other side of the bed they found him passed out on his side, with a broken nose on the floor. _

"All right dear boy, I'm done. You seem to be better despite your little stunt with the liquor. But I am not giving you clearance to start dueling or flying your broomstick. No sir. It's still a long time before I am convinced that you are as healthy as a Hippogriff. I hope you don't expect me to give you anything for the headache that you must have. This is going to be your punishment for not following directions, you will also have to take your lunch in the Great Hall as well. Just for today, we'll have breakfast here in your rooms though since we are already here." Madame Pomfrey said as she picked up the empty Firewiskey bottle and throwing it away. She knew that she was being harsh with him when she saw what kind of state he was in. But she needed him to concentrate on following his therapy. He was frail, even he wont admit it, and his magical powers aren't as strong as they should be.

It had taken him weeks after he woke up to be able to use his legs, and even then he had to use crutches. He didn't need them anymore but sometimes he was forced to either take a strengthening solution or take a nap to keep him from passing out in the middle of his classes. She turned to look at him and noticed that he was looking at the fire in the fireplace. Sometimes he still reminded her of the small and abused child he had been at the age of eleven. She saw him shivering slightly, even with the fire going and the many layers of teaching robes he wore he was cold. Poppy walked closer to him and put a hand up to cup his face which confirmed her observation of him being cold. "Severus, your cold as ice go get your cloak. I'll have the elves set up breakfast for us in the mean time."

He never answered her questions if he could help it. So when she sent him off to get his cloak he was more than glad to follow her orders for once. He didn't really hate Poppy but all the motherly attention she gave him was a little too much for his sanity. He scowled as he pulled out his cloak from the armoire. He hadn't used his cloak since he hasn't been allowed to go outside for too long and once it began snowing he was banned from going any place where he could send some one else to do his errands, most of the time it was Miss Granger who he would sent out to get fresh potion ingredients or he would sent an owl for anything else. Now he saw that his cloak was at least twice his size, was he really that skinny? He wondered as he struggled to put the cloak on. He felt like a little boy putting his father's clothes and pretending to be like them, well he supposed that's what little boys must fell like. His father would have beaten him within and inch of his life if he would have ever done that in his childhood. He wondered what his reaction would be if he had kids and found them wearing his robes and pretending to be him.

"Where did that thought come from?" He mused. Shaking his head he finally managed to put his cloak on and returned to his sitting room. Winky was finishing setting the small table when Severus stepped back into the sitting room. "Thank you Winky." Madame Pomfery said, "If we need anything we'll make sure to call you." With that Winky gave a deep bow and then disappeared with a crack.

Severus watched as Poppy made the finishing touches to the breakfast table. Ever since he woke up from his injuries Poppy has always had all her meals with him. He didn't understand why, he hated talking during any meal (he wasn't much of a people person). Once in a while they would talk about a new healing potion and whether or not they should included it to the rest of the healing potions Severus was already brewing for her. But most of the time it was quiet, except for the fire cracking. Taking a step forward Severus asked, "Poppy? Why is it that you come down to the chilly dungeons every morning to have breakfast with me? Surely there must be some dunderhead who is in need of your attention. Maybe Potter?"

Poppy laughed and gesture for him to take his seat. After making sure that there was a good amount of food on his plate and that he had begun eating she answered him while serving herself, "If I tell you then you are going to call me a 'sentimental old woman.'"

Severus raised an eyebrow and took his time chewing his food before swallowing. He looked at Poppy and knew that she was right, he would indeed call her a 'sentimental old woman'. But his need to know was starting to chew away at him, he needed to know. "You never know Poppy," he said calmly, " I might say something else or I might just not say anything. I am trying to change, you know, you can tell me. I promise not to say anything nasty."

"Next you'll tell me that you actually like Lemon Drops." She gave him a knowing smile and pointed a finger in his direction. "I know you too well Severus Snape. No amount of Slytherin cunning is going to help you. But fine since I know that you'll keep asking me in hopes that I will just let you be, I'll tell you why. The first reason is obvious, you always forget to eat. You know it's true, either you get too excited with a new potion or theory you just have to try or it's a new book. When you where Headmaster I saw you become thinner and thinner. You would hardly eat during meals and when the students became even more rebellious you looked as if you were near your death bed. Another reason id because I enjoy the conversations we have, even if they aren't many, you always have something interesting to say. Now we come to the part where you are going to call me a 'sentimental old woman'. Ever since you were eleven I've been taking care of you, healed all your injuries, like mothers do. Now it is as a son that I see you as Severus. I know you don't want to hear it but I do truly care about you and I want to see you happy.

"The war is over dear boy," she continued and placed a hand on his arm, "start a family. You're allowed to have it now without the threat of a lunatic killing you and your family."

Severus was suddenly hit by a sense of déjà vu. He could have sworn that he's had the same conversation with someone else, but who? He needed to find out where all this talk about family and love were coming from. He was truly touched by Poppy's declaration. He had expected the first part but never thought that she would consider him as a son. He nodding to her and remained silent for the rest of their meal.

Poppy called Winky when they were done with their breakfast. While Winky was clearing the table with the help of Dobby, Poppy thought that it would be better not to ask him about her revelation. After the house-elves were gone she sat down in the sofa next to his favorite chair. She turned to him and asked cheerfully, "So Severus, what are your plans for today?"

"It's the end of the semester Poppy. What else id there for me to but grade papers? I also have to get started with brewing you some more Pepper-up potion for when the students return." Severus said in a rather bored tone which told her that he rather be going somewhere far, far away form the castle till the semester starts.

"Alright then dear boy," she said as she got up and made her way to the Floo, "try not to over work yourself and floo me if you need anything. Don't forget that you have to eat lunch in the Great Hall today. See you later."

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A/N-So I totally lost count of the days and didn't notice that the day I had promised chapter three was a Sunday. Family day so I wasn't able to update. Sorry for empty promise. From now on I think that the chapters will come every other day. Again sorry for the boring chapter. They shall get better. Please review! They are what give me strength.

P.S- One more day till the Half-Blood Prince comes out! Yay!


	4. Chapter 4 Bonds and Friendships

_**Disclaimer- Unless JKR has dyed her hair black and shrunk to being 5'5. Then I am not her, hence the characters and places are not mine but belong to her and a whole bunch of people that are not me. I am just taking them out of the box to play. I promise to return them exactly where I found them without much injury.**_

_**A/N- Sorry for the lack of updates. But as you all know life tends to get in the way (wow that sounded like an insurance commercial). So to make it up this chapter is going to be a longer one than usual. **_

_**There was someone who asked me if Sirius was alive so I am going to clear things up. Everyone who was good and died in DH is alive. So Sirius and Dumbledore stay dead. Another question that was asked by the same person was when is Ron going to show up. Well as you can obviously tell this is a Severus/Hermione story so the world will not revolve around Weasel Face. I know it's a shock to him but I could careless. He will show up eventually in the story though. **_

_**Now on with the show! **_

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Bonds and Friendships

Harry made his way to the Potions lab after breakfast. He knew that at this time the Potion Master would be in his lab brewing for Madame Pomfrey. Most of those potions ended up being used for him; Harry gave a small smile at the thought that perhaps he should start paying for all the potions he used over the entire time he has been at Hogwarts. He didn't think that there was a single year where he didn't end up in the Hospital Wing. This year alone he has found himself in the Hospital Wing five times. He wondered if he could be possibly breaking a school record or something.

Suddenly he thought back to breakfast just a couple of minutes ago. He had made sure that the Arithmancy teacher had drank her coffee. Harry didn't really know why he had chosen her and not someone else. He guessed that maybe because the Professor taught a subject that was as hard as Potions that the two professors will get along. Now that Professor Vector had taken the potion it was just a matter of getting them in the same room. It was going to be hard since the Potion Master took most of his meals in his own room. The only reason that he didn't take to eating and spending all his time in the dungeons was because he was Deputy Headmaster and Head of Slytherin.

Standing outside of the potions lab Harry was starting to have doubts about his plan. But then he thought about how lonely Snape has been since the first down fall of Voldemort. Gathering his Gryffindor courage Harry knocked on the door and waited to be called in.

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Severus remained seated in his chair after Poppy had left. He thought about what it would be like to have a wife and kids. Would he be a caring father? A doting husband? He snorted. "Not bloody likely," he said. He would probably end up being like his own father. Abusive with both his wife and children. They say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If him turning into a Death Eather in his earlier days were any indication as to what kind of a man he was then the way he treats his students was one.

Looking up to the mantle clock he noticed he still had four hours till he was expected in the Great Hall for lunch. He decided to start brewing the potions that Poppy was in need of for the start of the new semester. Getting up from his chair he made his way to his private lab. Stopping in his office before opening the door to his lab Severus took his cloak and robes off. Leaving him in his black pants and black button up shirt. It was too risky brewing with so many layers of clothing; the sleeves could get caught on the flames or fall into the cauldron. Once he rolled up his sleeves and pilled back his hair he entered his lab and begun to work.

Severus was in the middle of starting to brew the ingredients for the Pepper-Up potion when there was a knock in the other room. Frowning and wondering who in their right minds would bother him, Severus made his way to the potions lab. He opened the door and found himself face to face with none other than Harry Potter. Severus groaned to himself and focused on giving the boy the most evil glare he could muster. He was glad when the boy looked like he was facing a Basilisk.

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Harry waited for a while after he knocked. He wondered if the Professor was even awake yet. Harry tried to imagine Severus just sleeping in and not doing anything. It was like imagining Hermione telling everyone that she was dropping out of school and joining the circus. In other words utterly impossible. Harry quickly gathered himself and stood straighter as he heard Professor Snape making his way to the door. Harry found himself shrinking at the glare that was being directed at him. If looks could kill Harry would be so dead it would make Dumbledore look alive.

"Mr. Potter, what do you want?" Severus snapped.

Fighting to stand his ground Harry gulped and said, "Good morning sir, I just wanted to visit and see how you were and also perhaps help you brew?"

Raising an eyebrow at the quivering mass in front of him. Severus asked in the most sarcastic tone he could, "Really Mr. Potter? How touching of you, my heart leaps with joy with the prospect of spending more time with you."

'Great,' thought Harry, 'he's awfully sarcastic today_.' _Clearing his throat Harry responded. "Please Professor, I know you don't like me but I would truly like to spend some time to get to know you better. And I would really like to brew with you."

Severus took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Potter, don't you have something else to do? Homework? Friends to spend time with? Hungry three headed dogs to bother?"

"Not really sir, no. I've already finished most of my homework, I even finished the two feet of parchment that you assigned on the properties of the Wolfbane Potion. Ron and Ginny are at the Burrow and Hermione is with her parents. As for the three headed dog, I doubt that Hagrid would let Fluffy go hungry. Please, Professor? I promise to not get in the way. I'll even offer to clean the lab and scrub the cauldrons."

Severus didn't really fancy having the Boy Wonder in his lab. But just standing where he was, was making him lose precious time that could be use to finishing or at least getting half way done with his brewing. Besides if the boy wanted to scrub the cauldrons who was he to deny that to him? Then there was the thought that spending time with the boy would either drive him insane or make him lose several brain cells. In the end having someone him with cleaning the lab and doing all the grunt work won out. He would just have to set some rules before he let the boy in.

"All right Mr. Potter; I'll allow you to help me. Though I'll warn you right now just so your Head of House, Lupin, doesn't come down here during the full moon and bite my head off. Any messing around in the lab or if you get on my nerves you'll be hexed out of the dungeons faster than you can catch a snitch. Now since I know you wont be able to keep quiet, you are entitled to talk every 30 minutes for 15 minutes. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir, I understand and I promise to behave."

Stepping aside Severus let the boy enter the lab and shut the door. He wasn't going to let him brew with him. Granted the boy had become better at potions, but Severus was the only one Poppy wanted her potions form. Besides he wasn't about to let the boy waste ingredients trying to perfect the potions. "You understand that you will not be brewing? You will clean the cauldrons and any other tool I use to prepare the potions. I might also let you bottle them, but no brewing or preparing the necessary ingredients."

"Yes, sir. I'm used to doing all the cleaning. That's all I use to do when I lived with the Dursley's. so I think I can handle scrubbing cauldrons."

That piece of information was new to Severus. He had always thought that Potter had always had an easy life just like his father and the reason he was always in trouble was because he loved attention. Without making a comment Severus turned and beckoned Harry to follow him to his private lab. Harry had taken off his jacket as he followed Severus to the back of the classroom and put it on top of one of the chairs. He had seen that the Potion Master was only wearing a button up shirt and black pants he decided that he would also just don his shirt.

Harry didn't know what to expect when he followed the Professor to the back of the classroom but the Severus' private lab was nothing like Harry had expected it would be. It was a big room with three long tables in rows. All the shelves where lined with potions all around the room. The room itself was bigger than the classroom they used for the potion class. Everything was neat and there was nothing hanging from the walls or ceiling. Even the floor looked like it was really clean. The tables looked cleaner than the ones in the classroom. Between two shelves with ingredients there was a long marble counter with a sink in the middle and many cutting boards and knifes. Looking back to the tables Harry noticed that there were three cauldrons on the first table of the room waiting to be filled with potions.

"Wow, sir." Harry said as he continued to look around. "This place is awesome."

Severus who had been watching as Harry looked around the lab was amazed at how sincerer the boy was. He himself took great pride in his lab. He had everything he needed to make what ever potion he wanted. His shelves full of potions were his prize possession. Most of the potions in there were some that required to be left alone for quite sometime before they could be used. Like wine some potions worked better as they aged. Although not all of them worked like these. Most of the healing potions had to be fresh to be able to heal efficiently. "Yes, Mr. Potter. My lab is quite 'awesome'. Now, if you are done sight seeing please fill the sink with cold water so you can begin to clean the knife and cutting board I am about to finish using." As Harry began to make his way to the sink rolling his sleeves up Severus added, "Oh and Mr. Potter? Your 30 minutes begin now, so please stay quiet and think carefully about what you are going to ask me when it is time to use your 15 minute."

Harry nodded and continued his way towards the sink to fill it with cold water. Once done he turned around and waited for Professor Snape to tell him when it was time to clean the knife and cutting board. He had never seen his Professor brew before and was amazed at how graceful the man looked when he was putting in the ingredients. They worked in silence for the next 30 minute as the Pepper-up potion began to brew and Severus was preparing the ingredients for a Fever Reduce potion.

"All right Mr. Potter," Severus said as he began chopping the ingredients, "Your 15 minutes begin now. Ask away, though I might not answer everything."

Harry already had his questions ready long before the 30 minute time limit was done. Turning around from the sink Harry left the cauldron he was working on sit in the sink. "Okay then. I guess the first thing I want to ask is do you still love my mum?"

Severus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. If he had know that he would have survived the war then he would of never given those memories to the boy. When he had woken up from his coma he thought a lot about Lily. He came to the realization that he no longer had feeling for Lily the way he had when he was younger. Giving the potion one more stir he turned to face Harry.

"No, I don't harbor any romantic feeling for your mother any more. She was my best friend and I did love her but now that is all she is just a friend that is no longer amongst us. I realized it was a heavy burden for me to carry on thinking that all I did was because I wanted her to forgive me for all the harm I had caused her. When the War ended and you killed the Dark Lord, it was with outmost relief that I realized that I no longer had feeling for her. I could finally let her go."

"Do you still hate my father?" Harry asked a little shaken by what his Professor had just told him.

"I will never stop hating your father. He caused me so much humiliation when we were both in school that it is something I could never forgive him to doing to me. I'm sure your disappointed."

Harry gave a small chuckle, "Actually sir, I'm not disappointed. I understand completely how you feel." Looking down at the floor Harry took a deep breath and looked back at the Potion Master, who was giving him a look that clearly said, 'you have no idea what it was like'. Leaning against the sink Harry crossed his arms and continued, "Before I knew I was a wizard my cousin Dudley made my life unbearable in our muggle school. He would gang up on me with his friends and beat me up or chase me. Nobody did anything because nobody messed with Dudley and his gang of friends. I never had any friends till I met Ron on the first ride to Hogwarts."

Severus began to feel unsettled as he listened and realizing that perhaps the boy was nothing like James Potter but perhaps he was more like himself when he had attended Hogwarts. After a moment of silence Severus said with a smirk, "Well Mr. Potter. It seems like your 15 minutes are up. Go back to work and think about the next set of questions you wish to ask in 30 minutes."

Harry had to smile as he realized that he had been tricked into using most of the time talking about his life before Hogwarts. Both men began to work again in silence. Every time the 30 minutes were up Harry asked more questions and tried to keep himself into getting side tracked into talking about himself. He wanted to learn as much as possible about the man that was Severus Snape. Some times the Potion Master would not answer some of Harry's question and he had to think about new things to ask. Severus in the mean time was having a hard time realizing how similar he and Harry were.

When it was 20 minutes before lunch they had managed to brew more than half of what Poppy needed. With out having to stop and clean the boards or knifes Severus was more than ahead of time. When they were finished cleaning, Severus made his way to his office to retrieve his robes and cloak. Harry had already left from the potions classroom having to get his jacket. When Severus stepped out side his office he was mildly surprised to find that Harry had waited for him. Giving him a slight nod they both made their way to the Great Hall. Severus thought that Harry would be asking questions none stop but instead remained quiet throughout the whole journey. He wondered if he and the boy had just entered a different stage from being just student and teacher.

When they reached the Great Hall Harry turn towards his Professor and was about to thank Severus for letting him help in the lab when the Potions Master was suddenly tackled to the ground by a small figure.

"Sevvy! Where have you been? I've been looking all over the castle for you my love!"

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A/N- Who could it be?

So what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Review! And please if your going to ask a question make sure I know how to reach you I hate taking space up answering questions that should be a answered in private unless everyone is asking the same thing. Also sorry if there are any typos or mistakes I try to turn in a good clean copy but somethings will get away from me.

Have a great weekend!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- No I am not JKR and I never will be. I don't own the characters or the places. If I did I would keep Snape.

Hey you guys sorry again for the lack of update. Please don't give up on the story I swear I am not ignoring it. Things just get in the way. Hope you enjoy this one.

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Vector vs. Trelawney

_"_Sevvy! Where have you been? I've been looking all over the castle for you my love!"

Severus groaned loudly as he fell to the ground. He didn't know what was going on but knew it had to stop soon. Suddenly he felt two arms wrap around his torso gripping him into a bear like hug that made his ribs crack loudly. He was starting to believe that perhaps it was Nagini coming back to finish the job, "Trust Longbottom not to do the job right," he thought as he tried to wrestle his way from the creature that was crushing him. He was positive it was really Nagini until he felt someone planting kisses all over his body.

_"_Argh! Get off! Off!" Severus yelled as he continued to wrestle free from the death grip.

_"_But Sevvy bear! I can't stand the thought of not being near you! I'll never let you go. Never!"

"Potter, don't just stand there like an idiot. Help me!"

People who were already in the Great Hall were trying to see what all the commotion was about. Harry knew he had to get Professor Vector off Severus. He didn't think she would be so wild. "Maybe," Harry thought, "I made the love potion a little too strong." Harry took out his wand as soon as he saw that Vector was desperately trying to undress Severus, when he heard a shriek behind him.

"Argh! Get your filthy paws off him you wench. Sevvy is mine!"

Harry turned around and to his horror saw Trelawney furiously walking towards where the Potions Master was still trying to get free and stay clothed. "Can this get any worst?" Harry thought as he saw Trelawney pull Vector off Severus. Suddenly there was a loud crack above Harry's head, there was only one thing that could make a sound like that and make things worst.

"Cat fight!" Screamed Peeves as he appeared above the small group wearing a referees shirt.

As soon as Trelawney had Vector on her feet and away from Severus she shoved her farther away as her hair seemed to begin to crack around her with energy. "Who do you think you are?" Trelawney yelled, " Trying to undress my Sevvy?! He's mine you hear me. Mine! If I ever see you lay a finger on him again I'll hex your face with boils."

Professor Vector was not going to hear any of it and even thought she was a couple of inches shorter than Trelawney she pushed the other woman with enough force to send her stumbling backwards. If it hadn't been for Harry Trelawney would have fallen right on her butt.

"How dare you say Severus is yours?!" Professor Vector screamed, "Severus us mine! Besides, who would want to be with you? He's too good to be seen with the likes of you!"

Peeves was watching the scene bellow unfold as if it was the Last Battle all over again. He even conjured a bag of popcorn for himself.

"Professor Vector. Professor Trelawney. Please don't fight." Harry said as he tried to get in between them. He didn't fancy having two angry witches dueleach other_. _They were starting to remind him of Bellatrix.

"Stay out of this Mr. Potter ." Professor Vector said sternly.

"Yeah! Stay out of this Potter! I've got good seats for the match."

"Shut it Pee_ves!" _All three of them screamed at the Poltergeist.

There were people now standing near the doors of the Great Hall watching as both witches were fighting for the Potions Master. The ones in the front were even sitting down in on the floor to allow the ones in the back to get a better view. Who would have ever thought that women would be one day fighting over one Severus Snape? They were sure that this was some sort of prank being played by the Professors. As soon as both witches drew out their wands and started firing hexes at each other people began to run for cover. Harry was trying to protect as many people as possible as they tried to run for cover and failed to notice a Jelly leg jinx make its way towards him. Tripping over his feet Harry fell face down and felt his nose break when it hit the floor. There was noting he could really do, his wand fell from his hands when he got hit and he couldn't get up. He watched in fascination as both witches disarmed each other at the same time. Instead of trying to get their wands back both women lunged at each other and fell to the ground.

"Ahahahahahaha! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Peeves screamed as he threw some popcorn at both women. Swooping down to where Harry was laying down with his legs still flopping wildly behind him he sat down. " See Potty? This is more entertaining than some boring lunch meal. And you wanted to stop them!" Peeves threw the rest of his popcorn at Harry's face and went back to watching the fight.

"Stupefy!"

"Hey!" Peeves screamed in annoyance, " Who the hell do you think you are you…" Peeves said as he turned around. As soon as he saw who it was he flew up into the air and immediately changed his shirt back to its original form. "Headmistress! What a lovely surprise. I tried to stop them I did."

Minerva didn't say anything and just stood glaring at Peeves until he disappeared. Turning to Harry who was still laying on the ground she flicked her wand and cast off the jinx from his legs allowing him to get up.

Thanks Professor." Harry said as he stood a little shaky in front of the Headmistress.

"Harry? Would you mind explaining why I just had to Stupefy two of my Professors? Why the hall looks like Bellatrix herself was here and why Peeves was dressed as a muggle referee?"

Harry looked around the hall and was surprised as to how much damaged there was. Upon seeing the damage he vowed to himself never to anger a witch as long as he lived. After turning a full circle looking at all the damage Harry found himself looking at a questioning Headmistress. He was saved from answering by the appearance of Madame Pomfrey. Harry thought it was a good thing, he didn't exactly want to tell how it all really got started.

"Minerva! What in Merlin's name happened here?" Poppy looked around and spotted the bodies of Trelawney and Vector. She immediately made her way towards them while casting diagnostic spells on them.

"Poppy I think that for the time being those two would be safer if they remained unconscious. Merlin only knows they would probably blow the whole school up if they woke up again." Minerva instructed.

"Very well Minerva, I'll just take them to the Hospital Wing. But I want to know what happened here! It looks like you gave Peeves free reign of the halls."

Minerva placed a hand on Harry's should preventing him from fleeing the scene of the crime. "I can assure you Poppy. I am just as curious as you to find out what happened here. I believe young Mr. Potter here knows exactly what happened. Why don't you make your way to the Hospital Wing while I clean things up here with the help of Harry."

Poppy nodded in agreement and put both the two unconscious women on two stretchers and made her way towards the Hospital Wing. Just as she was about to leave she turned to the two people left in the hallway and said, "Minerva if you see Severus please inform him I will not be taking my lunch in the Great Hall. That he is allowed to have his meal in his rooms but I do expect him here for dinner, please."

"I'll make sure to pass the message along Poppy." Minerva said as she began making repairs to the hall. It was then that Harry noticed that the Potions Master was no where to be seen. Harry thought back and realized that Severus disappeared just as the two women had begun to duel.

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_A/N- I really don't like this chapter for some reason. I would love to hear what you guys think of it. If you guys don't like it either I'll be more than happy to take it down and revise it. I am looking for a Beta for this story. So if you want to be one for me please hit me up. Again thanks for sticking with the story. Please review! Reviews are the only thing that feed the story._


	6. Chapter 6 Confessions and Shocks

_**Disclaimer- No I am not JKR. Not unless she dyed her hair black and shrunk down to 5'5. Trust me if I was her I would not be sharing Severus with anyone. All the characters belong to JKR and to WB and a list of people so long it should be illegal. **_

_A/N- Thanks to everyone who has left a review so far and also for all of you that have this story on alert, I feel so loved! I was so surprised that you guys actually like the last chapter. It didn't feel like it would live up to the last couple of chapters. So wooo hooo! Now we get to see what the damage Harry did was. DUN DUN DUUUUUN! _

_Oh! Guess what? I have a beta! More celebrations. So a huge thanks to my beta debjunk. She is utterly awesome for putting up with all my insane emails. Any other mistakes you may find are my fault. _

_Now on with the show!_

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Confessions and Shocks

"Cat fight!" Shouted Peeves.

As soon as Severus was free from Vector's grasp, he quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself. Getting to his feet, he made his way as fast as he could away from the two witches. Severus knew that what right now were just insults to one another would soon turn into a duel. If there was one thing he had learned over the years, it was that women are at times scarier than Voldemort himself.

Severus was having a hard time breathing as he tried to make his way back to the dungeons. He was certain that he had many bruised ribs. The left side of his body wasn't doing any better either. The area where Nagini had bitten him was still quite sensitive, and right now it felt as if someone was pouring hot wax on it.

He was almost near the stairs leading to the dungeons when he heard screaming coming from behind him. Thinking that perhaps Trelawney had somehow killed Vector and was now searching for her prize, Severus broke into a run, clutching his sides. Looking straight as he ran, Severus failed to see Mrs. Norris get in his way, making him fall down the stairs.

"Shit, this is going to hurt," were his last thoughts as he fell down the stairs.

Oooo0oooo

After watching Madame Pomfrey leave, Professor McGonagall turned to face Harry. She knew he had something to do with Vector and Trelawney dueling each other. She just hoped it was a really, really good reason. Noticing that Harry still had a broken nose, she waved her wand at him to fix it.

"Thanks, Professor. Uhmm, I should get going…"

"No, Mr. Potter, you're going to stay here and help me fix the hall. Then you are going to explain what happened, understood?"

Harry sighed and said, "Yes, Professor." There was no getting out of it. He was in deep trouble. As he began helping Professor McGonagall fix the hall, he wondered why Dobby had spiked Trelawney's drink with the love potion. Harry had only wanted for Vector to be drawn to Severus. Nothing was ever going to go the way he wanted.

Once they were done repairing the hall, Harry was still wondering where Severus was and if he was okay. The last thing Harry needed was for the Potions master to start trying to avoid him again. Harry was really going to kill Dobby for not following directions. Hopefully, McGonagall wouldn't kill him before he got his hands on Dobby.

"All right, I think the first thing we should do is check up on Professor Vector and Professor Trelawney. Once we are done you are really going to start talking young man." Nodding his head, Harry followed the Headmistress to the Hospital wing. Harry thought back to how ridiculous both Professors looked fighting each other. Trelawney's hair could rival Hermione's. Harry began to smile to himself at the thought of both Hermione and Trelawney having a match to see whose hair was wilder.

When they finally reached the Hospital wing, both professors were awake. Madame Pomfrey was moving between the two beds, casting more spells to make sure that they were okay. Harry noticed that while Professor Vector looked embarrassed, Trelawney was throwing glares at Vector. He wondered briefly why she would be mad at Vector. It's not like it was Vector who gave her the potion. That had Dobby's finger prints all over it.

Professor McGonagall came to stand in front of both women. "Now, ladies," she began saying, "We are going to be civil to each other. Everyone will have the chance to talk, so no interruptions." Turning to look at Madame Pomfrey, she said, "Poppy, are they all right? Any injuries?"

"No, Minerva, just a couple of scratches. But I think you'll be interested to know that both of these ladies have consumed a very strong Love Potion."

Minerva was shocked. Who would drug her staff with a Love Potion? If the Weasley twins were still in school, she would blame them. But now the castle was Weasley free for the remainder of the holidays. "A Love Potion? Are they still under its influence?"

Walking away from her patients to check on Harry, she said, "No, I was lucky enough to have the antidote. Awhile back Severus and I decided it was best if we had a batch of the antidote incase something like this would happen. We just never imagined that our staff members would be in danger of being drugged with it." When she was finished checking Harry, she conjured up chairs for all of them to sit down.

"Thank you, Poppy." Once seated, Professor McGonagall turned once again to face both ladies. "Now, could one of you please explain why you were fighting each other like a couple of teenage girls?"

Professor Vector looked like she was on the verge of tears when Trelawney started talking. "That woman over there," she said as she pointed an accusing finger at Vector, "tried to steal my Severus from me!"

Harry was suddenly very interested in the conversation instead of thinking up ways he was going to hurt Dobby. He had thought he'd heard Madame Pomfrey say that she had given the antidote to both Professors. Yet it seemed like Trelawney was still under its influence. Madame Pomfrey thought the same because she was waving her wand again at both witches. "I don't understand…my readings say that there are no more traces of the potion in both their systems," Poppy said.

"Do you honestly think that only someone who was on some Love Potion could possibly love Severus? I love him! I always have and I'm not going to let some tramp steal him away form me."

"Sybill please calm down. No one is trying to steal Severus away from you. You must understand that Septima here was just acting under the influence of the Love Potion. Besides, no one knew Severus and you were an item," Minerva said.

Hearing the last part, Trelawney began to blush. Picking at her blanket she said, "Well, we aren't really a couple yet, but I hope that some day we could be one."

Professor Vector seemed to have recovered and looked at Trelawney. Still teary eyed she said, "Sybill, I swear I would never do anything to hurt you. I was trying to fight the potion, but I just couldn't control anything I was doing. I'm truly sorry. Please forgive me. And also, I hope that Severus and you will one day be happy too. He needs a good woman in his life." Both women began to cry and stood to hug one another.

Harry slumped in his chair, thinking that he was never going to understand how the female brain worked. He also thought about how all this was starting to look like one of the drama shows Aunt Petunia used to watch. He saw Madame Pomfrey lean over to Professor McGonagall and whispered, "This reminds me of all those dramas Albus was always watching." This sent the Headmistress into a fit of silent giggles. Clearing her throat, Madame Pomfrey said, "Well, ladies, I think you'll be happy to know that you are free to go. Just please no more fighting."

After both women had left arm in arm, Madame Pomfrey also left for her office. Once Harry was alone with the Headmistress, he tried to look at something interesting so he wouldn't have to look at the Headmistress' eyes. "Harry, look at me, please." Finally giving up, Harry turned to face Professor McGonagall. Pointing a finger in his direction, Professor McGonagall said, "Harry, you have guilt written all over your face, so don't lie to me lad. What did you have to do with what happened to Professors Vector and Trelawney?"

"Professor, please don't be mad. I had a good reason for what I did. I made a batch of Love Potion and asked Dobby to slip it in to Professor Vector's morning drink. I didn't know, though,that he was going to slip it in to Professor Trelawney too. I just wanted Professor Snape to be happy. He's always alone, and I just thought he needed a good woman at his side. I picked Professor Vector because she is smart, so I thought they would be perfect for each other."

"Oh, Harry, you foolish lad. Don't you think that Professor Snape would want someone to love him on their own free will and not by some potion? Honestly, it's a wonder you're still alive with the choices you make."

Harry had to smile at that. He knew his plan hadn't been the brightest, but he couldn't deny that the end result of this plan was worth it. "Well, I think you should thank Hermione for that, Professor. She was the one that always put a stop to most of my plans. She's the smart one." Taking a more serious voice Harry continued, "Uhmm, Professor? I'm worried about Professor Snape."

"I know, Harry. I'm worried about him too. Sometimes I wonder what we'll have to do …"

"No, Professor. I'm worried about him because he was there in the hall too, right before Professor Vector and Trelawney started dueling."

"Harry James Potter! Why didn't you mentioned this before!?" Professor McGonagall said as she stood up towering over Harry.

Harry felt himself shrinking at the angry look that the Headmistress was giving him. He briefly remembered the vow he had made to never get a witch angry. So much for that promise. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't thinking straight. Do you think he's hurt? Professor Vector tackled him pretty hard, and then she was hugging him like her life depended on it. I might have heard a couple of his ribs cracking."

"Harry, I don't know, but I do know you should have said something sooner. Get up. You're going to help me find him."

Making her way to the door of the Hospital wing, Minerva was thinking about the foul mood she knew Severus was going to be in. He was probably going to try and blame it all on her. Saying that is was one of Albus and her brilliant plans to find him a wife. Just as she was about to open the door, the person she last expected to appear opened it. Behind the person was Severus on a stretcher.

"Hermione, what are you doing here? What in Merlin's name did you do to Professor Snape? You killed him!"

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A/N- OMG! Hermione is here! I really don't know when I will be able to update but it shouldn't take more than two weeks. Life is getting in the way in a really annoying manner. Please check out my home page to vote on a poll I am posting for this story. Trust me when I say, you guys might just like it. Thanks! Please review!


	7. Chapter 7 Harry Plots

_Disclaimer- All hail JK Rowling! She is the owner of Potterverse. I don't own any of these characters and never will. If I did, I wouldn't share Severus with anyone._

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"Hermione! What are you doing here? What in Merlin's name did you do to Professor Snape? You killed him!"

Upon hearing the Headmistress, Madam Pomfrey immediately stepped out of her office to see what the trouble was. She certainty wasn't expecting to see Hermione Granger levitating the unconscious form of Severus Snape onto one of the infirmary beds. Quickly making her way towards the bed she began to run diagnostic spells on Severus, while Hermione transfigured his robes into pajamas. Both Harry and Minerva were still standing in front of the doors to the Hospital wing completely speechless. They watched as Hermione and Madam Pomfrey healed the Potions master like experts.

Once they were done, Minerva finally found her voice and said, "Miss Granger, would you care to explain why you are here, and what exactly did you do to Professor Snape?"

Not meeting the Headmistress' eyes, Hermione concentrated on smoothing the covers on the Potions master bed. "I'm here because… because my parents forgot to tell me that they were going to France to go skiing. I spent yesterday at the Burrow, but it was a little too much for me. You know how the twins are, always playing pranks. As for Professor Snape, I didn't do anything to him. I was on my way to talk to him about the homework he assigned us for the holidays when I saw him knocked out on the floor of the dungeons. I have no idea who is responsible for his injuries."

Minerva noticed that Hermione was trying to hide something, but decided to let it pass for now. Moving closer to the two witches she asked, "How is he, Poppy?"

"Broken nose and two bruised ribs. He'll be good as new in a couple of days. I am going to have him stay here for a couple of days just to make sure everything is okay and that he doesn't get himself in more trouble. It seems that if I am not watching over him, he always ends up injured. Reminds me of a certain Gryffindor with glasses and green eyes." She said as she glanced at Harry, who wasn't even paying attention to what was being said.

He was, at the time, looking at Hermione as if it was the first time he has seen her. He was finally looking at her as a woman and not just as a friend. She was smart, very pretty, caring, and always wanting to learn more. She always had rotten luck when it came to guys. He honestly didn't understand what had attracted her to Ron. They always argued over the most ridiculous things. Hermione liked to talk about the latest Charms or Potions Journal. While Ron wanted to talk about the Chudley Cannons and how he was certain that this year was the one for them. Food was also a huge topic to Ron. Harry knew opposites attracted, but it didn't hold true to Hermione and Ron.

He needed to know what Hermione thought about Professor Snape. Harry knew they would make a perfect couple. They were both stubborn, brilliant and know-it-all's. He was sure that the Potions master didn't want to end up dating someone like Professor Trelawney. Vector was out of the picture now. Not only was she too emotional, she was suddenly lacking something that Professor Snape needed from a partner. It probably didn't help that now she was going to turn into the female version of Mad-eye Moody.

Clearing his throat, Harry said, "Headmistress? Could Hermione and I go? I don't think Professor Snape is going to like seeing us when he wakes up."

Glaring at Harry, Minerva shook her head and said in a stern voice, "No, Mr. Potter, we still have to talk about your punishment for today's little experiment. Don't think you're getting away that easily. Miss Granger, thank you for bringing Professor Snape to the Hospital Wing. Now, the both of you please step outside while I discuss an important matter with Madam Pomfrey."

Once they were both outside, Harry gave a quick hug to Hermione. He couldn't help but think she needed one. She looked like she was in another world. Harry began to wonder what had really happened to her at her parents.

"Hermione, what really happened at your parent's place? They would never forget to tell you they were changing plans for the holidays."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall of the hallway. She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it. Suddenly. tears were making their way down her face, and she slid down to the floor shaking. Harry was immediately at her side, hugging her and rubbing circles on her back. Throwing her arms around his neck Hermione continued to cry on his shoulder.

"It's okay, 'Mione, just take deep breaths. I've got you, don't worry."

"My parents don't want to see me again. They said they couldn't trust me anymore." Hermione said as she continued to cry. It took Hermione a while to finally come down enough to wipe her tears away. Harry sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. They leaned into each other as they sat in silence. Harry knew it had been hard in the beginning when Hermione had brought back her parents from Australia. They had been furious with her for keeping so many secrets from them. They had also been angry at her for using magic on them without their permission. All in all, it hadn't been a happy family reunion for the Granger's.

Breaking the silence, Harry said, "I'm sure your parents didn't mean anything they said 'Mione."

"I should have know better than to just Apparate right into the house, but I was so excited to be spending time with my parents without having to worry about anything. Harry, when I got home I found packing boxes everywhere around the house. Most of them where marked with my name. Then mum came in and totally freaked when she saw me just standing there and started shouting at me about how I should have knocked at the front door instead of disrespecting their privacy. Dad came in and made mum calm down. After that they told me that they sold the house because they couldn't live in it anymore since it's been tainted by magic." After a couple of minutes, she wiped more tears from her face and continued. "The part that hurt the most was when they told me that I couldn't move in with them once I graduated. Dad said that since I felt I was old enough to fight in a war, then I was old enough to live on my own. They didn't even tell me their new address so I could at least visit them. They had me shrink all my stuff and pack them, then they walked me to the door and pretty much slammed the door in my face."

"I'm sure your parents will come around soon enough. Just give them a chance to cool off some more. As for you having a place to stay after this coming semester, 'Mione, you know you can more than welcome to come and live at Grimmuald Place with me and Gin after graduation, right?" When she nodded in understanding Harry changed the topic in order to lure her out of a depressing topic. "You said you went to the Burrow? What happened there?"

"Ronald is what happened. Him and that cow Lavender," Hermione said with a scowl.

"Lavender?" Harry said in shock. "Why was she there?"

"You didn't know Ron and she got back together?" Hermione asked as she gave him a piercing look.

Harry put his hands up in surrender and nodded his head. "Hermione, I swear I didn't know anything. I actually thought that Ron was going out with Romilda Vane. I had no clue Lavender and he got back together. Please don't kill me."

"Oh, Harry, grow up. I am not going to kill you. I'm going to kill Ron. The whole day I was there, he kept making out with her just to try and see if I would get jealous. As if I would be jealous of her! Plus, when he wasn't trying to make me jealous, he kept following me and asking what I was doing. I thought the twins were annoying. They should take lessons from him."

Grinning, Harry said, "I just have to know, Hermione, what kind of questions was he asking?"

"Well, the one that finally had me packing my things was when I was in the living room, reading. He came up to me and asked what I was reading. I told him it was none of his business and to go away. You know what he asked?"

"Knowing Ron, I bet it was something incredibly dumb."

"Harry, 'dumb' is an understatement. Asinine is more like it. He said, and I quote, 'Is it a young adult vampire romance novel?' Stop laughing Harry, it's not funny!"

"I'm sorry, 'Mione, but it's too funny. So, were you reading a 'young-adult vampire romance novel?'"

"For your information, Golden Boy, I was reading _Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. _You should read it. It's a very good book."

"Meh, maybe, we'll see." Suddenly, with a twinkle in his eye, Harry said, "Hey, do you think Professor Snape would like to read it?"

He was surprised but pleased when Hermione blushed slightly before lowering her head and answering. "He might, I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no particular reason," he responded while trying not to look at her in the eyes. "It's just that you like to read a lot. Professor Snape likes to read a lot too. I just thought that the two of you might like the same books."

Hermione didn't like the way that Harry's eyes were twinkling. She was beginning to think that perhaps he has been spending a little too much time with Dumbledore. Before she could ask him what he was thinking about, the door to the Hospital wing opened and the Headmistress stepped out.

"Mr. Potter, please follow me to my office." Turning to Hermione she said, "Miss Granger, we'll talk tomorrow. Have a pleasant day."

Even thought he knew he was still in trouble, Harry couldn't help but be relieved when the Headmistress made her appearance. He knew Hermione had become suspicious at what he had said about the Potions master. At least now he had some idea as to Hermione's feeling towards the man. Harry had the perfect plan now to get them to notice each other. He just hoped that this plan didn't blow up in his face like the last one.

* * *

A/N- So there you have it folks!What is Harry up too? Hope you enjoyed reading the lates chapter. Next, Severus awakes up. Oh and a chapter dedication to anyone who can figure out where the line:_ 'Is it a young adult vampire romance novel?'_, came from.

There is a poll on my profile page concerning this story. Please check it out! Also please review. Let me know what you think. I love hearing from all of you. Thanks to my amazing beta Deb for doing a wonderfull job guiding me through all my errors!


	8. Chapter 8 And then, they noticed

_Disclaimer- I don't own it, I don't own it. *sighs* J. is the one who came up with these amazing characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own notorious deed. I'll return them to where I found them with a big cookie. :)_

A/N- Blah! . This was my longest chapter yet. It was a pain to get it to work the way I want it to. Well I hope you guys enjoy it! Please Review when your done! Thanks to my amazing beta Deb, she is a life saver. Oh, by the way for those of you who didn't know where Ron's question came from in the last chapter. It was from 'Potter Puppet Pals- Snape's Diary'. I recommend it, it's hilarious.

single quotes mean thoughts.

_ Double quotes with italics mean flashback._

* * *

The first thing he noticed was that, wherever he was, it was too bright. The second thing he noticed was that the bed he was in was not his. Severus Snape groaned inwardly when he finally realized that he was in the Hospital Wing. He took a peak to confirm his location…oh yeah… it was definitely the Hospital Wing where he was lying in. Though how he managed to get there was beyond him. The last thing that he remembered was getting personally acquainted with the dungeon floor. Just as he had suspected, it had hurt, a lot.

His head felt like it was ready to burst open. Severus wondered if he still had the hangover headache from that morning. He was sure now that Poppy would let him take some Headache Relief Potion, especially if he'd hit his head as hard as he thought he had. He didn't want to spend another minute in the Hospital Wing if he could help it. He needed to get out. If he was there, then there was no escaping a motherly Poppy and that was the one thing he hated the most. Even during the war, he hardly spent any time in the Hospital Wing. He would report to Albus and then make his way to his quarters. Too much time spent with the healer was worse than a classroom full of Hufflepuffs, making the need for him to leave at a high level.

First thing that he needed to do was to open his eyes. He was glad that Poppy had been kind enough to grant him some privacy and set some screen around his bed. He was going to need all his spying skills if he was planning on escaping Poppy's care. Listening to make sure that Poppy wasn't anywhere near him, he tried to get off the bed without making too much sound, only to find himself stuck to the bed.

"Blasted woman! She used a sticking charm on me. For the love of Merlin, I don't even have enough energy to cast some wandless magic," Severus thought to himself as he tried once again to free himself from the bed, but he was too tired. Finally giving up, he figured there was only one thing to do now.

"POPPY! POPPY! Get out here and cast off this damn charm this instant!"

"Professor?" A timid voice came from behind the screens.

"Whoever you are, kindly go and fetch Madam Pomfrey for me," Severus said through clenched teeth. He couldn't believe that Poppy would just leave him there defenseless where anyone would be able to harm him.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but Madam Pomfrey told me to stay here and look after you until she returned."

Severus tried to control his anger; there was no point in getting worked up when it was obvious that Poppy had finally found a way to keep him under her watchful eyes. He decided instead to figure out who was behind the screens. From the sound of the voice, the person was female. His eyes widen in shock when he finally realized who the voice belonged to. He was sure the he knew the owner of the voice, it brought with it a bigger headache than the one that he already had.

_'No! Not Granger! Oh, how does Poppy like to torment me. Once again I find myself in the care of the know-it-all,'_ Severus thought. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths. At least it wasn't Trelawney looking after him, for that he was thankful.

"Miss Granger?"

"Yes, Professor?"

Oh, how he hated it when he was right. "What time is it?"

"It's ten in the morning, sir. Would you like me to get you something to eat?"

_'Ten in the morning?! Ten in the morning? Sweet Merlin! I've been here since yesterday? Well, at least now I know the headache isn't a hung-over headache.'_ He thought to himself. He couldn't believe that he had spent almost an entire day in the Hospital Wing. He wondered where all his years as a spy had gone, if he couldn't even wake up and tend to his wounds any more. He didn't like being vulnerable, Severus Snape was not a vulnerable person.

"Professor?"

"What do you want, Miss Granger?" Severus sneered.

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

"But, sir! You must eat something. Madam Pomfrey told me that the last time you had a meal was yesterday at breakfast. Surely, you must be hungry," Hermione said trying to reason with him.

"Miss Granger, you are neither my mother nor boss for you to be able tell me what I 'must' do," Severus said with as much venom as he could muster. How dare the girl tell him what to do? It was ridiculous that she thought she had such power over him, even if she was the one with the wand and the ability to move. If Albus could barely get him to eat his meals at the best of times and Poppy had to threaten him at least three times before he ate, what made her think she would do any better?

"All right, how about a Pain Relief Potion?"

"No." There was no way that he was going to let her think that he was in any sort of pain. Severus Snape did not feel pain. Well, if he moved his head to the right, it did hurt, but that was the sun's fault and not his.

ooooOoooo

Hermione was not surprise at her Professor's behavior. To her it was just like the day he had finally awakened from his coma. When she had seen that he was beginning to wake up, she had been more than happy. He had already been in the coma for six months. During that whole time, Madam Pomfrey and she had been taking care of him and healing his injury. Harry had also dropped by from time to time and had been kind enough to let them move the Potions master from St. Mungo's to Grimmauld Place.

When the Potions master had finally woken up she was there by his side in a flash. Madam Pomfrey had gone to rest, as the both of them had taken shift during the night. Hermione helped him up into a sitting position, making sure that he didn't hurt his neck, and gave him some water to drink. The whole time he had been glaring at her, she didn't know if that meant that he was back to being his normal self or if he was mad at her.

_-------------------------------------------------_

"_Miss Granger, kindly remove yourself from my person and leave." Severus said hoarsely._

"_Sir, I'm afraid I can't leave you, but since you asked for me to remove my hands from your shoulders, I will." Turning around to place the glass of water back on the small table near the bed, she asked, "How are you feeling, sir? Is there anything else I can get for you?"_

"_Please, Miss Granger, don't insult my intelligence. We both know that you don't give a care as to how I am or if I wanted anything. Now, I'll say it again, go away and leave me be."_

_Hermione snorted and placed her hands on her hips, immediately taking the 'Molly Pose' as she liked to think of it. After watching the woman scold her sons with that same pose she figured that it might work on her ex-Professor. "And I've told you, sir, that I can't leave you. Madam Pomfrey would be very mad if I did. I don't exactly want to face an angry Poppy just because you think that you need some alone time. Besides, I think you need some company. Perhaps with someone who has more of an ability to make intelligent conversations. Or would you rather I call Dobby or Ron Weasley?"_

_Severus didn't say anything, but instead placed an arm across his face to block out the light. He wanted to be alone, he didn't want to face anyone at that moment. He knew it was a matter of time before the Ministry came and took him away to Azkaban. Why couldn't the girl understand? And really, who was she trying to fool asking him how he was and if he wanted anything?_

_Death was the only thing he wanted at the moment. '_I wasn't supposed to survive! Albus I swear if you had anything to do with this, I'll bring you back to life just to kill you again, you meddlesome, old fool,' _Severus thought as he tried to remember everything that happened before the Dark Lord had set Nagini on him. _

"_Professor? Are you okay?" Hermione asked as she lowered her hands and sat at the edge of the bed._

"_Why do you care?" he asked as he looked at her. Taking a deep breath, he asked her, "When will the Ministry be here to escort me to Azkaban?"_

_Hermione looked at him in confusion. She didn't know what he was going on about. She hadn't heard anything about the Ministry taking him away. After a couple of minutes of silence, she finally understood why he was asking when the Ministry would be there to take him away to Azkaban and throw his cell key into the ocean. Of course, he didn't know all that had happened in the past couple of months since the Final Battle. He probably thought that every man, woman, and child in their world wanted to see him hanged for what he did. Perhaps she could use this lack of information to get him to behave and not try to boss them around. But that would just be cruel, and, quite frankly, she didn't have it in her to mess with him like that. Besides, he would eventually find out the truth and then there would be hell to pay. No, the right thing to do was to tell him the truth, she decided. She'll tell it too him bit by bit so as to not throw him off. _

"_Sir, what was the last thing you remember from the Final Battle?"_

_Severus snorted at the question, as if it wasn't obvious what the last thing he remembered was. After all, she had been there with her two dimwitted friends. "You mean besides a vicious snake sinking her fangs into my neck and blood gushing out from the wound? Not much. But since you're here and not dead, I will assume that the Light won."_

_Hermione's gaze was drawn to the red scars that adorned his neck now. That was really a dumb question, she decide. Of course the last thing he would remember was Nagini. "Yes, well, that is quite obvious isn't it?" She said with a nervous laugh. She was sure that if he hadn't thought her to be a nuisance before, he was definitely thinking it now. Taking a deep breath, she came to the conclusion that she should just tell him that he was cleared of all charges. It wouldn't be a nice sight if Madam Pomfrey came in and found him throttling her to death. _

"_Right, dumb question. Sorry, sir, I just wanted to know how much you remember. But anyhow, we did win, Harry defeated Voldemort." She was surprised that he didn't flinch when she said the name. Instead, he looked like he was just a tad disturbed. She wondered why and if he would tell her if she asked nicely. "After the clean up, we found you still alive and took you straight to St. Mungo's. While you were there, trials for all the captured Death Eaters were held, and with the Order along and the memories Dumbledore left, we were able to prove you were innocent." _

_She thought about telling him it was Harry that did all the work and persuasion, but decided that it was better not to get him angry. _

"_I'm not going to Azkaban," he said after a long pause. It couldn't be that easy, and he knew it. He knew that there must be a catch to all of it. "What do they want in return?" _

_She was beginning to hate not know what he was talking about. She thought that he would be happy that he was free. A growl brought her back to the present, and she was startled to see that he was glaring at her with so much anger. She hadn't seen him that angry since the night Sirius had escaped and he was denied the Order of Merlin. _

"_Get out, Miss Granger," he hissed at her. When she didn't move, his patience finally died. "I SAID GET OUT! GET OUT, YOU IDIOT CHILD!"_

"_Severus! Honestly, must you scream like a spoiled child?" came Madam Pomfrey's voice from the door way._

"_Poppy, I swear, if you don't get this idiot girl away from me, I will kill her with my bare hands."_

"_Stop being so melodramatic," she said as she began to cast diagnostic spells on him. "Would you like a Pain Relieving Potion, Severus?"_

"_No, Poppy, what I want is to be left alone."_

"_Yes, well, __**I **__want a million Galleons. Since I'm not going to get what I want, neither are you. Now, hush child, while I finish my diagnostics."_

_Severus ground his teeth and glared at Granger just out of spite. He was certain that the girl was messing with him. She was playing stupid and he was not amused. Nor was he amused by Poppy trying to hide a smile from him. Setting his sight back to Granger he said,"I thought I told you to leave. Stop gawking at me you silly girl."_

_oooOooo_

_Hermione jumped a foot into the air, she wasn't expecting Snape to growl at her. She looked at Poppy for help, only to find that the Healer was trying with all her might to keep a straight face. _

_After a couple of minutes of watching Poppy fight with silent giggles, she heard the healer say, _"_Hermione, dear, why don't you go take a break? I can handle him from here."_

"_Are you sure, Madam?"_

"_Yes, yes, now off you go."_

_The young witch was more than happy to obey. She quickly excused herself and made a run at the door, closing it softly behind her. _

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------_

Hermione didn't want a total repeat of the past. She was sure that this time there would be no Madam Pomfrey to step in before he found a way to kill her, even if he was stuck on the bed with no wand. Or it might be the other way around, there would be no stopping her from strangling him to death. _'Men! Why do they always have such big egos?'_ Hermione asked herself. She didn't know why men were so insistent to act all macho around women, and even more around other men.

Standing up from her chair, she pulled back the screens around his bed and sat down on the edge of it. "Professor? How about we make a deal? You eat breakfast, and I'll be quiet until Madam Pomfrey returns. What do you say?"

"No."

Hermione decided that he was starting to sound like a four year old saying, 'No,' all the time. He was a man of intelligence, he should know more creative ways to say 'No', shouldn't he? She needed another plan to get him to do as she wished. Since being polite and nice didn't work in the past and was not going to work in the present time, then the opposite will probably work.

oooOooo

"You're worse than Ron and Harry," she mumbled loud enough for him to hear her.

"I, Miss Granger, am nothing like Potter and Weasley. I will not be insulted by being compared to those two dunderheads."

Severus could not believe that the Gryffindor Princess was comparing him to her friends. He was smarter and stronger then those two boys. The only thing they had going for them were their looks. They didn't have Quidditch, he was just as good as the two of them.

Giving himself a mental shake, he decided to think about how much better he was than 'Dumb and Dumber' some other day. Right now, he had to figure out how to get rid of Granger. Severus wished that he could see her, if she was out of his line of sight then he couldn't glare at her, thus forcing her to free him and leave him in peace. He was at least grateful that Poppy hadn't done the whole charm to his entire body, he could, at the very least, move his head.

Severus was so deep in his musing that he didn't even noticed when Hermione pulled her chair next to his bed and sat down to read. He also didn't noticed when she leaned forward with both elbows on the bed, one holding the book and the other with her chin resting on it. In fact, Severus probably wouldn't have noticed her at all if it hadn't been for the fact that someone was messing with his hair. Turing his head to face Granger, he noticed that she had a lock of his hair in her hand, twirling it and still reading.

oooOooo

"Miss Granger?"

"Yes, Professor Snape?"

"Kindly remover your hand from my hair," he said in a deadly voice.

"I don't have your hair in my hand, Professor," Hermione said without taking her eyes off her book. "I'm playing with my hair."

"Miss Granger," Severus said through clenched teeth. "Take your eyes away from that blasted book and pay attention to what you are doing!"

'Sweet Merlin, what is his deal? Why should it bother him that I'm curling my hair? Although, it does fell different. A little straighter and way softer, that new shampoo works wonders!' Finally taking her eyes away from her book, Hermione looked at the locks of hair she had been playing with the last five minutes. Her eyes widen in horror as she realized that she had been playing with the Potion master's hair.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer- "I own the Potterverse!" is what J. K. Rowling said. -sigh- I still don't own it._

_A/N- An update? Yeah I know. Surprised me too. -Sheds tears of joy- It's because of all of your reviews, loyal readers, that I was able to write this next part. See a review makes the world spin or so I've been told. _

_Anyhow, I know you guys are just wanting to know what Severus will do to Hermione. You should have seen them bicker with each other when I was trying to write this chapter. They just would not shut their mouths. In the end I had to give them a piece of cake and made them take a nap. :)_

_A huge thanks to my beta Deb. She's super amazing!_

_Now on with the show!_

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Previously:

'_Sweet Merlin, what is his deal? Why should it bother him that I'm curling my hair? Although, it does fell different. A little straighter and way softer, that new shampoo works wonders!' Finally taking her eyes away from her book, Hermione looked at the locks of hair she had been playing with the last five minutes. Her eyes widen in horror as she realized that she had been playing with the Potion master's hair._

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Removing her fingers from his hair she said, "Sir, I'm sorry. I swear I thought it was my hair." Seeing the look on his face made her shut her mouth. Backing away from the bed, she thought that she really should say something, anything so he wouldn't kill her the moment he was freed from the Madam Pomfrey's Sticking Charm. "Uhmm… you have really nice hair, sir."

'_Where did that come from?' _She thought to herself. '_Nice and Snape? In the same sentence? I must be running a fever; I mean it just got really hot in here. I hope that Professor Snape doesn't catch whatever it is that I have.'_

**OOOoOOO**

Severus was shocked at what he had heard the Granger girl say. No one had ever thought that his hair was nice. The girl must think that he would hex her into next year if she didn't say something nice. Though, for some reason, the compliment didn't make him mad. He was actually glad that someone knew his hair wasn't greasy like everyone thought. Stranger still than not getting mad at her comment, was the fact that he seemed to be wishing she would go back to caressing his hair. _'Really, Severus, you must have hit your head harder than you thought. Either that or you must still be drunk.'_

Both were thinking how awkward it suddenly got. Hermione was seated as far away as possible, without leaving his side.

Severus wished he could move, but he would just have to deal with staring at the ceiling_. 'I never noticed how fascinating the ceiling was.' _

Neither one wanted to be the one to break the awkward silence. But Severus' stomach had other plans as it made itself know. _'Traitor,' _Severus thought angrily as he tried not to blush from embarrassment.

**OOOoOOO**

'_He's blushing! I didn't even think he knew how to do that,' _Hermione thought. _'But he does look quite adorable when he blushes.' _She was starting to wonder if perhaps she was now showing signs of insanity, if she was thinking things like that about the Potions master. After giving Snape and herself a minute to pull themselves together, she asked with a small smile. "So, Professor, breakfast?"

"Fine! But remember what you said, Granger. You'll go away if I eat," Severus growled.

Covering a giggle, Hermione said, "Yes, Professor, I promise that as soon as you are done eating, I won't bother you." When she saw him nod in agreement she called Dobby and asked him to bring the Potions master something to eat. When she turned back to face Snape, it was to see him glaring at her. _'Now what?' _She thought.

"Is something wrong, Professor? Are you feeling ill?"

"Tell me, Miss Granger, how exactly do you think that I will eat my meal? I can assure you that you will not be allowed to feed me like a sick child."

Hermione blushed at the image his words painted. Why she would be blushing was beyond her. Maybe she was getting sick and it was why she was feeling hot around the face. Focusing back on the task ahead, she tried to think about how she would remove the charm without allowing him to be able to grab his wand and leave the Hospital Wing.

Her dilemma was taken care of when Dobby came back with breakfast and some tea for Hermione. With a click of his fingers, the Sticking Charm was placed just on Severus' lower body. Noticing that he was finally able to move more, Severus sat up.

"Thank you, Dobby," both Hermione and Severus said at the same time.

"Master's are most welcome!" Dobby said happily as he saw a slight blush on both their faces. With another click of his fingers he was gone.

**OOOoOOO**

After watching Dobby leave, Severus stretched his arms and back. He hated not being able to move for long periods of time. As he worked on his neck, he noticed that the Granger girl was watching him. When they locked eyes, her face went red as the Gryffindor colors. _'Why is she blushing? Idiot girl must have caught some virus.'_

Moving the breakfast try closer to himself, he began to eat. He was so hungry that if it hadn't been for his mother's Spartan education, he would have wolfed down his meal like a Weasley.

Instead, he decided that glaring at the girl would make a better form of entertainment. What's better than to see a student break down in tears because they can't handle a Snape glare? Sure enough, the little know-it-all was soon trying to avoid his gaze and began to read her book again. _'But she's not so little anymore, is she, Severus?' _A little voice in his head said.

_'Albus! Get out of my head! I will not have you try and change my views about the little demons that I have to teach.'_

_'You know I'm right though; Miss Granger is not a child anymore. She's grown into quite a young woman.'_

Severus ignored the little voice in his head as he continued to eat. He found out that his conscience, after the war, was no longer Lily. Albus apparently was now the permanent resident. Not even death seemed to stop the old coot from interfering in Severus' life.

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Hermione was walking down the stairs from the library the day after having to watch over Professor Snape. She was surprised that she had come out of it alive. Most of the time it looked like the man wanted to kill her. To her, it didn't seem like she would have liked any of the ways that he was thinking of killing her. She rather liked breathing and living. It was fun and far better than not being alive.

"Miss Granger," a voice from behind her said. Turning around, she saw the Headmistress making her way towards her. "Miss Granger, good afternoon. Please follow me to my office. We still need to talk about why you returned so early."

Hermione tried hard not to look disappointed that the Headmistress had finally remembered that they were suppose to talk. Following the older woman, she thought about what she would tell her. She didn't want to tell her everything; she knew that the Headmistress would look at her with pity. Hermione didn't want pity, in any way or form.

She was certain that she could tell Professor McGonagall about her day at the Burrow. There didn't seem to be any harm in talking about that. Perhaps the older woman would know how to get Ron to stop trying to make her jealous. It was never going to work, but since Ron is so intent on trying, Hermione needed a plan to show the dimwitted redhead that she only wanted to be friends now and nothing more.

When they were finally in the Headmistress office, Hermione took a seat in one of the chairs that was in front of the Headmistress' desk. "Now, Hermione, why did you come back so early in the winter break? Were you not supposed to spend time with your family?"

'_Trust the Headmistress not to beat around the bush.' _Hermione thought as she began to explain to the Headmistress that her parents had decided to visit some relative in the States. She had been invited to spend time with them, but didn't feel like spending so much time away from England. It would have also crushed her plans to go to the Burrow for Christmas dinner with the Weasleys.

**OOOoOOO**

"If that was the case, then why didn't you stay with the Weasleys?" Minerva asked. She knew that Hermione was lying, and she didn't know why. But she wanted to hear the entire story before she began to question Hermione's actions.

"It was getting out of control, Professor." Hermione said. "When I got there, to the Burrow, it was packed, and the twins were testing out their new Christmas products. Besides, Ronald was being a, what's the word I'm looking for? Ah, yes! He was being a complete dunderhead."

Minerva had to stiffen a small laugh as she heard the young woman in front of her describe Ronald Weasley as a dunderhead. It was almost exactly the same words a certain Potions master used to also describe the youngest male Weasley.

"And how is it that Mr. Weasley was being a 'complete dunderhead' as you put it?"

"He won't get over the fact that we are never going to be a couple. He thinks that by making me jealous, I'm going to go running into his arms and profess some undying love for him. Really, Professor, even Lockhart knew when to stop."

Minerva looked at Hermione and knew that it was true that the Weasley boy was never going to be a match for the intelligent woman. Recalling her conversation with Harry the night before, she decided to start some plotting of her own. The idea that Harry had put on the table seemed ridiculous at the time, but now that she thought about it, it really might not be such a bad idea.

"And what is the sort of man that you would choose, if not Ronald Weasley?" Minerva asked.

"Well," Hermione said as she pondered for a minute on her idea man. "He would obviously have to be smart. I want someone with whom I can have a decent conversation about anything and not just spend an hour talking about how Quidditch is the best sport in the world. Honest; he has to be honest. I don't want some idiot who agrees with me just because he is too afraid to disagree or thinks it's what I want to hear. Looks don't matter to me. But I think that the important thing that I want from a man is that he will let me continue my career and not expect me to drop everything and become a stay-at-home mother popping out children like a rabbit."

'_Really now, they are perfect for each other. Yes, I really do think now that Harry's plan will work,' _Minerva thought as she listen to Hermione describe her perfect man. _'Although, I do believe that they will both need a little push to notice each other. And perhaps a makeover for the both of them, that would really make the two of them notice each other.' _

"Well, Hermione, I wish there was something that I could do to help you with Ronald. But I think that the only way he will stop his actions will be for him to see you with another man. But enough about that," Minerva said as she pulled out a couple of papers from her desk. "There is another reason I wanted to talk to you. How would you feel about taking your N.E.W.T.S after the New Year?"

"What?!" Hermione said with a shocked expression.

"Hermione, I think that you are more than ready to take your N.E.W.T.S. In fact there was really no need for you to have returned to Hogwarts at all this year. You could have easily taken your exams and passed with flying colors. Have you given any thoughts as to what you want to do for a living?"

**OOOoOOO**

Hermione was speechless. She couldn't believe that the Headmistress was asking her if she wanted to take her N.E.W.T.S. after the New Year's. "Of course Professor!" she said excitingly once she had recovered her speaking abilities. "To tell the truth, the only reason I even returned to Hogwarts when it re-opened was because I had thought that I didn't know any of the material that would be on the exam. But after this past semester, I realized that I know more than what the professors are teaching the rest.

"As for what I want to do after I take my N.E.W.T.S., I was thinking about becoming a Healer. I learned a lot from Madam Pomfrey when we were taking care of Professor Snape, and with all the times I had to heal the boys during out hunt, I knew it was something I wanted to do."

"Well, then, that settles it. You will be able to take your exams in January. I suggest that you speak to Poppy about becoming her apprentice," the Headmistress said as she saw how excited Hermione was at the thought of finishing her studies so soon.

After talking some more, Hermione finally left the Headmistress' office happier than she had been in a long time. She didn't even noticed where she was walking until she ran into black robes on her way to the owlery. Looking up to the person whom she had just about pushed to the floor, she found herself looking into the eyes of the Potions master.

"I'm so sorry, Professor," she said as she moved away from him. It was then that she noticed that there was another person with the professor. "Draco!" She exclaimed in surprise as she pulled the blond into a hug.

"Hey there, Hermione," Draco said as he returned the hug back. Two years ago, he would have never been caught dead hugging a Muggle-born. But soon after the war, both Hermione and he had become good friends. "Where's the Hippogriff?" he said in a teasing voice.

"No Hippogriff, just really excited. The Headmistress just told me that I could take my N.E.W.T.S. after the holidays, so I don't have to wait till the end of the school year," Hermione explained to Draco while completely ignoring the angry Potions master that was standing to the side.

"About time too!" Draco said as he gave another hug to Hermione. "You should have taken them like I did last year!"

"I know, but I wanted to make sure that I knew everything that was going to be on the test."

**OOOoOOO**

Severus snorted when he heard this. 'Really, she probably has the whole bloody library memorized,' he thought as he watched his Godson talking with the know-it-all.

For some reason, he found that he didn't like the way that Draco was teasing the girl, nor when he hugged her either. Too much touching in his opinion. He also didn't like this small pang that he was feeling in his chest when he heard the Granger girl say she would soon be leaving Hogwarts. 'Why should I care if the girl stays or leaves? If she leaves, then that would mean one less big headache for me to endure,' he thought bitterly to himself. Still though, that slight pang wouldn't go away.

After what seemed like and eternity to him, Draco was finally done talking to the Gryffindor princess. "Miss Granger, since you are done talking, kindly move out of the way."

"I wasn't blocking your way, Professor,' Hermione said with an innocent smile. "I was talking to Draco. You could have moved anytime you wanted."

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Miss Granger. Draco, come along," Severus snapped as he billowed away from the angry looking girl.

When they were walking down the stairs to the dungeons, Draco said with amusement in his voice. "Wow, Uncle Sev', you should teach me how to be as smooth a talker with the ladies are you are. You totally had 'Mione falling for you."

Severus didn't say anything as they both stepped into his quarters, but did send a small Stinging Hex at Draco, as the blond was sitting down.


	10. Chapter 10 Peeves' Heping Hand

_Disclaimer- Oh how I wished I owned it. But I don't J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and his little friends. I'm just writing this to amuse myself._

_A/N- WOW! It's been almost a month since I last updated. Good grief. I didn't mean to leave everyone hanging like I did. Seriously, where does time go? Hopefully this will be a good chapter for all of you to enjoy. If anyone's noticed my chapters are getting longer. If this bugs anyone then please let me know. Since this is my first Fanfic I have no idea what is the ideal length for a story is, though I doubt that they will surpass the 4,000 words. _

_Anyhow! On with the show! And a big humongous thanks to my beta debjunk for all her help and pointing out my mistakes of horror. lol. _

* * *

Christmas had finally arrived. Mistletoe could be found around the castle. The ghosts floated around singing Christmas carols. Everyone at Hogwarts had the spirit of Christmas and couldn't be happier that the day was finally upon them.

'_Not everyone has the spirit of Christmas,_' Harry thought._ 'Snape and the Bloody Baron are the only two who don't have the holiday cheer. Nothing can be done about the Baron. Snape, on the other hand, is a simple problem to solve.'_

Two of Harry's plans to get Snape and Hermione closer were going to go into effect today. The first one he himself had come up with. The second plan was created with the help of Professor McGonagall, but they needed the help of another being for their plan to work.

That's why Harry had risen earlier than anyone else. He didn't want anyone hearing his plan and spoiling everything. There were some very nosy people at Hogwarts. Even though he did wake up very early, he wore his invisibility cloak and had the Marauders map with him. Checking his map once again, he pushed the door to the DADA classroom open and found Peeves inside. The poltergeist was turning all the desks upside down.

"Peeves," Harry said as he pulled his cloak off. He was highly amused when the Poltergeist screamed like a girl when he was spooked.

"Potter! What do you want?" Peeves said as he threw a chair at Harry. But Harry was too fast, and the chair missed, hitting the door instead.

"Hush! I have a job for you, Peeves," Harry said with a twinkle in his eyes. "And trust me you're going to love it."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple of hours later, Poppy was just finishing getting ready for the day when her Floo activated.

"Poppy, are you awake?" Minerva asked.

"Yes, Minerva, I'm awake. Come on through." Poppy said as she watched her friend go through the Floo and land in her sitting room.

"Good morning, Poppy, and Happy Christmas," Minerva said as she pulled her friend into a hug.

"My, aren't you in a merry mood, even for Christmas morning?" Poppy said as she returned the hug. "So, what do I owe the early visit to?"

"Oh, nothing really," Minerva said with a sly smile. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go and open presents with Severus. I think it would be a nice surprise to give him. I hate the idea of him spending Christmas morning alone to open his gifts. So, what do you say?"

Poppy laughed at the determination that showed in Minerva's eyes. "Don't you think it's a tad early to be going to his rooms? It's barely seven in the morning. You know how much he hates to be disturbed this early."

"It's not too early, and you know it," Minerva said as she took a seat on one of the recliners. "He's probably already awake and brewing Merlin knows what. That boy can never stay away from his potions."

Sighing in defeat, Poppy said, "Very well. Let me just get my presents then, even though we both know that Severus will be very angry at us for bothering him so early. He's already mad at you for making him attend all of today's meals in the Great Hall. Not to mention dinner at the Burrow."

"He'll get over it," said Minerva in a bored voice.

ooooOoooo

Ten minutes later, both women were standing in Severus' sitting room with their presents shrunken inside their pockets.

"Do you think he is brewing?" Minerva asked.

"No, he always leaves the door to his lab open so he knows when someone is Flooing him," Poppy answered as she made her way towards the bedroom door. Signaling to Minerva to be quiet, she slowly opened the door. When she quietly stepped into the room, a slight snore could be heard coming from the bed.

Poppy couldn't help but smile as she took in the sight of a sleeping Severus. He was snuggled deeply into the covers of the bed. She couldn't blame him, the dungeons where especially cold in the winter mornings.

"Severus, Severus, wake up, love," Poppy said as she gently shook his shoulder. A small grunt was the answer she got before Severus pulled the covers over his head. "Severus, get up please."

"Poppy, go away. It's Christmas morning. Shouldn't you be sleeping in like I'm trying to do?" Severus said through the covers.

"Hmp! Tell that to Minerva," Poppy murmured. "Come, Severus, wake up so we can open presents."

"No."

"Severus, stop being so childish," Minerva said as she walked up to the bed. "Don't you want to open your presents?"

"No! Now go away."

"Minerva," Poppy said with a plotting smile. "I believe Miss Granger was right about Severus. He does act like a two-year-old."

ooooOoooo

"I don't act like a two-year-old," Severus said as he came out from his covers. "I'm up. Happy?"

"Yes, we are. Now scoot over so we can sit and open presents," Minerva said as she sat on the right side of the bed.

"Why can't we do that out in my sitting room?" Severus asked with annoyance in his voice.

"Because, opening presents in bed is more fun," was Minerva's reply. She looked like a little kid in a candy store as she set all their presents on top of Severus' bed and un-shrunk hers and Poppy's.

In all the years Severus had known Minerva he had never seen her act like she was acting at the moment. He wouldn't be surprised if Albus has actually possessed her. Shivering slightly at the idea, Severus turned to look at Poppy who was still standing next to his bed. Scooting so he could sit in the middle of his bed he offered the other side to Poppy.

"Thank you, Severus," Poppy said as she made herself comfortable. "How are you feeling so far?"

Severus wanted to tell her that he was just fine. But Poppy always had a way of knowing when people were lying about their condition, and then she would cast a diagnostic charm on them to confirm her suspicions. Sighing, Severus said as he leaned back against the bed's headboard, "Tired. I could have used a couple more hours of sleep."

Putting a hand on Severus' forehead, Poppy said, "Yes, well, I tried telling Minerva that this early visit was a bad idea. I doubt that there are many people awake in the castle at the moment."

Letting Poppy cast her diagnostic spells, Severus pondered the words that she had said to him before. "Poppy? Did Miss Granger actually say that I act like a two-year-old?" He really didn't care if it was true or not. Severus knew what kind of names people called him behind his back and also what nasty things they compared him to.

'_Are you sure you don't care Severus?'_

'_Yes, Albus, I'm positive. I don't care what that idiot girl says and thinks about me.'_

'_Keep telling yourself that, Severus. One day you might believe it.'_

"Well," Poppy said as she started handing him his daily potions along with a Headache Reliever potion. "She didn't just say it like I did, but it was implied. I only said it because I knew it would get you up. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."

As he finished drinking his potions he set the last vial down and crossed his arms across his chest. "You didn't hurt my feelings. Why you would think so is beyond me. I could care less about what people say about me, especially the Granger girl. I just wanted to know so that the next time I saw her I could take off points."

A snort on his right brought their attention to Minerva who had finished arranging their presents. "Severus, if you do such thing, not only will you have me to deal with but also Remus. And that little comment about you not caring what Hermione says is a lie."

"Think what you want, Minerva," Severus said with a sneer. "I really could care less what the Gryffindor princess says about me."

"Keep telling yourself that, Severus. One day you might believe it." Minerva said as she picked up one of her presents to open.

'Albus must really be possessing her!' Severus thought.

ooooOoooo

Sensing a duel to the death about to start, Poppy also grabbed a present that was marked for Severus and pushed it into his hands. "Here, Severus, open your presents. This one is from Harry."

OoooOoooo

Severus looked at the present in his hands and raised an eyebrow in question. He wondered why Potter would be sending him a present. As much as he hated admitting it, the brat had gotten better in Potions and really didn't need to raise his grade. Cautiously he opened the box, expecting that at any moment something foul was going to jump out of it. Instead, inside there were two large jars with a note on top of them. Taking the note out, Severus opened it to read.

_Professor Snape,_

_Happy Christmas! I hope that you like your presents, sir. Please don't think that I'm doing this to raise my grade or something. I just thought that you might really like them and find them useful for your work. Also, your old Advanced Potions book is at the bottom of the box. I was really surprised it had survived the fire in the Room of Requirement. Anyhow, like I said, I hope you like your gifts._

_HP_

Putting the note down, Severus carefully took out one of the jars, noticing that both Minerva and Poppy were watching him. Inside the jar was what looked like snake skin. Turning the jar around, Severus gasped as he read the label that said, "BASILISK SKIN'. Severus was completely speechless; he couldn't believe that Potter would go through so much trouble to get him Basilisk skin. Something that was extremely expensive to buy.

"Oh, my," came Minerva's voice. "He must have gone down to the Chamber of Secrets to get that."

"You mean he didn't buy it?" Poppy asked as she took the jar from Severus to examine.

Shaking her head, Minerva said, "There's no point in buying something as expensive as that when he could easily get it for free." Taking the jar from Poppy she said, "And from the looks of this, this is higher quality than what one could buy in Diagon Alley."

Turning his attention back to the other jar, Severus carefully took it out of the box. It was full of some sort of clear liquid. Turning it around to look at the label, Severus read "ACROMANTULA VENOM". Severus briefly wondered if he was ever going to get to use his voice. Out of all the things he expected Potter to get him; those were the two items that were certainly not on his list.

As he kept looking at the jar he noticed that there was another note stuck to it. Gently setting the jar down he took off the note and read it.

_Please don't tell Professor Slughorn where you got this. I'll never hear the end of it._

_HP_

Severus couldn't help let a small grin appeared on his face. He knew what Slughorn's reaction would be if the old man ever found out that Potter preferred Severus over him. Slughorn probably thought that he was Potter's favorite teacher.

"Acromantula venom." Poppy's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "I wonder how he managed to get this."

"That's easy," Minerva said as she opened her present from Molly. "After the Final Battle and making sure that Severus was sent to St. Mungo's, Harry grouped up with Ronald Weasley and Kingsley to search the Forbidden Forest for any bodies or anyone who had been injured. Apparently Grawp killed a lot of those beasts. I think Harry only found three bodies, and those were Death Eaters. So, I'm giving it a guess here and say that he got the venom from one of the beast."

"There were Acromantula's at the Final Battle?" Severus asked as he finally found his voice.

"Yes," Minerva answered. "Though they only managed to get to the ground level of the castle and the lawn. You sound surprised, Severus, didn't Tom recruit them into his ranks?"

"I don't believe he managed to do so until the Final Battle. He had been trying for quite some time but with no luck.," Severus said as he remembered all the meetings that took place before the Final Battle.

After a moment of silence Severus went back to opening the rest of his presents. Checking the box in front of him, he read the tag to see from who the present was from. 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' was all that Severus saw before he dropped it on his lap again. He debated with himself about whether or not he wanted to open the box or not. In his opinion nothing good ever came from those devil twins. He had no idea why they would be sending him a present unless it was some sort of prank.

Holding the box as far away from his face, he slowly opened it. When nothing jumped out or exploded he asked Minerva to cast a revealing charm just in case, since his wand was on his bedside table. When there were was nothing to report on, Severus looked inside the box and found a beautifully tailored winter cloak and a pair of dragon hide boots. Looking for a note, he found one at the bottom of the boots which said that the twins would explain everything when they saw him later for dinner. He still didn't know why exactly they would be sending him things, especially after what happened with George two years ago. Something was up, and for some odd reason, Severus wasn't actually worried.

Following the twin's presents was his second traditional Weasley sweater and mince pies from both Molly and Arthur. Minerva's gift had been a new set of stirring rods, each made from a different material. Poppy had given him a new book on Egyptian and Chinese herbs. From Remus and Tonks, an expensive bottle of Elf-made wine (which Poppy quickly confiscated). Draco had given him a rare ring which would protect the wearer from any poison. Severus was especially surprised when he saw that Granger had knitted him a scarf and gloves.

At the end there was just one box for him to open. He tried to think of who could possibly be sending him a gift. It had to have been someone who he didn't know since obviously everyone he thought hated him had sent him a gift. He knew it wasn't a gift from Lucius and Narcissa since they had given their gift to him the week before they had left to Spain for the holidays.

Opening the small box, he instantly regretted letting his guard down as something gooey shot out of it. Poppy and Minerva quickly got out of the way, but all Severus could do was put his chin to his chest as he tried to cover the rest of his face with his arms.

As soon as the box was done with its attack, a cruel laugh could be heard from above the bed. Peeves appeared before them, laughing his head off. Severus growled as he managed to cast a wandless Scourgify and threw himself at the laughing poltergeist.

"Awwww! Didn't icklesevvy like Peeves' present?" Peeves said as he tried to stay away from Severus' grasp.

"Peeves! You're going to pay for this little prank," Severus growled.

Sticking out his tongue at Severus, Peeves quickly vanished to the Gryffindor common room to receive payment for his work.

As soon as the poltergeist left, Severus checked the ring that Draco had given him, thankful that he had put it on right away after admiring it. Luckily the stone was still a black color which meant that whatever the goo had been, it hadn't been poisonous. It was then that he noticed that his hair felt odd. Reaching up to touch a lock of hair, he found that the goo was still there. Ignoring the concerned looks from Minerva and Poppy, Severus made his way towards his shower.

After almost thirty minutes of trying to wash out the goo, Severus gave up and dried himself off. Pulling his bathrobe on, he walked back into his room to find that Poppy and Minerva were still there.

"Oh, dear," Poppy said as she made Severus sit on the edge of his bed. "It still didn't come off."

Severus shook his head as he watched both women try to spell it off. After trying every spell that they knew, they lowered their wands in defeat. Whatever the goo was, magic could not get it off.

"Severus, I'm sorry but we're going to have to cut your hair," Poppy said sadly.

Closing his eyes, Severus braced himself and said, "Fine. Just get it over with." A couple of minutes later he felt the difference as a cold draft hit the back of his neck. Opening his eyes, he reached up to feel his hair. Minerva transfigured a tissue into a mirror and handed it to Severus.

Looking at how short his hair now was, Severus couldn't help a slight wince from gracing his face. He wasn't bald, but he sure felt like he was. His once shoulder-length hair was now above his ears. He certainly felt naked. Grabbing his wand, he tried to spell his hair to grow back to its original length, but the spell wouldn't work. When he couldn't get his hair to grow, Poppy tried to spell it. But after two more tries it was apparent that whatever had been in that goo had kept hair from re-growing the magical way.

ooooOoooo

"Well, Severus, it looks like you're going to have to grow your hair out the normal way," Minerva said.

Poppy couldn't help but notice that her friend looked a tad too happy about the situation. She thought it was a good thing that Severus was angry and trying to think up ways to kill a poltergeist to notice anything odd about the Headmistress. An interrogation was going to be needed, Poppy decided.

Minerva was obviously up to something. Though why her friend would be plotting against Severus was a great mystery indeed. Looking at Severus, Poppy couldn't help but think that whatever Minerva was up to Albus had probably put her up to it.

'Poor Severus, now we'll never get him out of the dungeons,' Poppy thought to herself as she watch the young Potions master craw back into bed and pull the covers over his head.

"Now none of that, Severus," Minerva said as she tried pulling the covers off Severus. "You must go up with us to breakfast. Come now, child, get up and dress."

"No."

'_Great,' _Poppy thought as she watched with a small smile as Minerva tried to get Severus out of bed. _'He's back to using his favorite word.'_

Looking at her watch, Poppy noticed that Minerva would be late arriving to the Great Hall. Clearing her throat she said, "Minerva, why don't you go on ahead. I'll make sure that Severus makes it to the Great Hall."

"Very well," Minerva said as she made her way towards the door to the sitting room. "But Severus, be warned, if I don't see you in the Great Hall dressed and ready for the day, your hair is going to be the least of your problems, young man." With that, she stepped out, and the Floo could be heard coming to life.

"Poppy, leave." Severus said from beneath his covers. "I don't care what Minerva says, I'm not leaving the dungeons."

"Severus, it's not so bad. If you want, I could put a glamour charm on you so that the students wont notice."

It was a while before Severus sat up and looked at Poppy. "All right. I'll get dressed, and then you can place the charm on me."

Poppy couldn't help but chuckle as Severus kicked her out of his room so he could get dressed. 'Now all I have to do is make sure that nothing else ruins his Christmas,' she thought as she sat on the couch in front of the fireplace. Not knowing that Christmas that year was going to be one interesting day.


	11. Chapter 11 Mistletoe Kiss

**_Disclaimer- I asked Santa to let me own Harry Potter and he gave me a WII instead. No matter how much I wish it I will never own Harry Potter and the characters. _**

A/N- Wow! It's been so long since I last updated this. I am really sorry for that. The only thing I can say is that this chapter was really really difficult to write. But I have it done and that's what matters,right?

I realized that in the last chapter the Slughorn comment didn't make much sense so let me explain. Minerva, on Poppy's orders, only let's Severus teach the last two upper years. The rest (year one-five) are taught by Slughorn. If there is anything that's confusing please let me know and I'll be more than happy to explain it.

I have to give like a uber, super thanks to my beta debjunk for all of her help on this chapter. With out her, you all would still be waiting for me to finish this.

And with that said, let the show begin!!!

* * *

Severus was sure that there was someone in heaven that hated him with the passion of a thousand suns. There was no other explanation for it. He had thought that Minerva would be kind enough to spare him from having to show up to breakfast with his ridiculous new look. But no, the Headmistress had actually scolded him in front of the entire Great Hall and had made Poppy remove the glamour charms.

Now ten minutes later Severus was stabbing his breakfast imagining that it was the Headmistress' face. He hated how he could feel everyone's eyes on his person. He didn't like being the center of attention. Though as much as he hated that people were staring at him, he couldn't help but wonder what a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor thought of his new look.

_'Honestly, what do I care about what the Granger girl has to say about my new look? She probably thinks I look like an idiot.'_ Feeling even more wretched he continued to attack his meal.

XXXXXXxxxxXXXXXX

"Blimey. It's about time Snape did something about his hair," Ginny said as she helped herself to breakfast. "Wonder what made him see the light?"

"Don't know," Harry innocently said. "What do you think, Hermione? He looks much better doesn't he?"

Harry was pleased as a he saw the slight blush Hermione got as she quickly looked at the teachers table to look at the Potions master. "Well... he looks okay with short hair, but to tell the truth, he looks way better with the style he had before.

_'All that work for nothing!'_ Harry thought. He tried his best not to let his disappointment show as he turned back to his plate.

XXXXXXxxxxXXXXXX

After having to endure an hour at the gaze of everyone in the Great Hall (not to mention the disgusting love looks Trelawney was throwing at him were enough to make him want to lose his breakfast) Severus found himself walking towards the Apparition site. He knew Minerva had made Poppy send him out to the Burrow hours before they were expected just so she wouldn't have to suffer his wrath.

_'Probably just wants me go to the Burrow so the Weasley's could have a good morning laugh_.' He was so deep in thought that he almost walked past the Apparition spot and was well on his way towards Hogsmeade. Giving himself a mental shake he sent one last glare towards the castle and turned on the spot to Apparate.

Severus didn't have a chance to gather his surroundings as he suddenly felt the ground slip from beneath his feet. Expecting a painful reunion with the floor Severus was surprised when he felt two pairs of hands grasp his arms to keep him from falling.

"Nice entrance, sir."

"Yeah, Professor, though we think it's better if you didn't break a bone before you got to the Burrow."

"Right, you are Gred. Mum would probably think we attacked you, Professor."

"Not that we would ever attack you, sir. Right, Forge?"

"That's right. So, Professor, glad to see you're wearing our presents."

Severus stood up and eyed the two young men that were standing in front of him wearing mischievous smiles. He had to admit that despite their foolish ways, they had certainty made a name for themselves. He wonder what they had in store for him because it was obvious that they wanted something from him. "Gentlemen, nice to see you too. Thank you for the help... and also the presents."

"No problem," they chorused.

"Shall we make our way towards your home, or is standing in the middle of a freezing field your idea of pleasant?" Severus asked as he wrapped his new cloak closer to himself since it had started to snow. He could already feel the cold creeping through his clothes. He wanted to get out of the cold as soon as possible.

Seeing the scowl on their ex-professor, the twins started walking in the direction of the Burrow. Fred walking on Severus' left side and George on his right. Severus felt a pang of guilt as he saw George's missing ear. He thought that perhaps there was a potion or spell that he could invent that would return the young mans' ear. Though he hated to admit it, the missing ear did help tell who was who.

"So, Professor, we have a offer to make," Fred said as they kept pace with the Potion master's long strides. "George and I , we need a very talented Potions master to work for us. Our products are becoming so popular that we don't have time to work on new products since we spend more time than we want making them and running the shop."

"Because we have such a small amount of time," George cut in. " We knew that the only person we could trust to help us with our work was you, sir. Come work for us!"

Coming to a stop Severus turn to look at the twins. "Let me get this straight, gentlemen. You want me to help you make joke products that I am at all times confiscating from my students?"

" Well, yes. Think about it, sir, if you work for us..."

"You could place special charms that make the products stop working when they are in a classroom setting..."

"And in our defense, we always told our costumers not to use our products in..."

"Your class, because it's so dangerous," they finished saying together.

"You actually expect me to believe that? Better yet you expect me to just leave my job at Hogwarts for a joke shop?" Severus asked.

The twins stared at him blankly for a couple of minutes. Severus wished they would hurry up and say whatever it was they wanted to say because he was afraid that his boots were starting to freeze to the ground.

"How about this, sir, we'll give you till the day after New Year's to give us your response."

"Besides, we aren't asking you to leave your teaching position at Hogwarts. We know that you only teach the sixth and seventh years. So, we thought that you might be a little bored up there in the castle."

Severus thought about it for a bit. The job offer was tempting, he was sure that he would make more money with the extra job, and with that he could leave Hogwarts and start his own brewing business. But to make joke products for a living? He wasn't so sure about that. "I'll think about it, gentlemen," and with that, the three of them started on their way towards the Burrow.

_'Take the job Severus,'_ Dumbledore's voice said. _'Besides, with Miss Granger leaving this coming term, it's going to be even more boring since there will be no one at the castle to challenge your brewing knowledge.'_

_'Shut up you old coot. I thought I told you to go away!'_

_'Come now Severus, you need my help, and you know it. Take the job, you shouldn't spend so much time inside the castle. You're young, get out more.'_

_'If I had it my way, I would 'get out more' as you put it, but you know Poppy wont allow it. She thinks the slightest sneeze will send me to my death bed. Besides, there is no real reason for me to take the job offer.'_

_'Well, think about it, my boy. Miss Granger is a close friend with the twins and would more likely than not drop in from time to time to visit them at the shop...'_

_'Please, why do I care if she's going to be a regular visitor? Why are you so intent on me getting to know that little know-it-all?'_

_'Oh, but my boy, it's not me who wants to get to know Miss Granger. It's you.'_

XXXXXXxxxxXXXXXX

Severus and the twins soon reached the Burrow and were stepping inside the house when Severus suddenly found himself being crushed in a hug from Molly Weasley. "Severus! I'm so happy you're here. Look at you! You're too thin, I thought Poppy was taking care of you. Come sit, I just made some tasty snacks." Everything was spinning, and Severus soon found himself being seated in the kitchen table next to Arthur Weasley, who was reading the morning paper.

"Morning, Severus," Arthur said without taking his eyes off the _Prophet_.

"Good morning, Arthur."

"Severus," Molly said as she was setting plates for the other people around the table so they could serve themselves. "I must say, you look quite dashing with that new hair cut."

Trying not to slide off his chair in a attempt to disappear, Severus braced himself as the people around the table finally took a good look at him. _'Too bad it's bad manners to hex the hostess,_' he thought dryly.

"Bloody hell, Snape," Ron managed to say through a mouth full of food, some of which flew out as he spoke. "What the hell did you do? You look ridiculous!"

"Ronald!" both Molly and Arthur yelled. Molly being the closest to her youngest son, took advantage and smacked him in the back of the head. "Young man, apologize to Professor Snape this instant!"

"What!? No way, mum! Not when I'm telling the truth," Ron said standing up to keep out of reach from his mother. What he didn't realize was that Bill had just walked into the kitchen and had heard what his brother had said. Seeing how Ron thought he was out of danger from a smack on the head he proved his little brother wrong and managed to hit Ron in the same spot his mum had hit earlier.

"Mum, said apologize, Ron. So, do it!"

Rubbing his head, Ron started to make his way out of the room muttering about evil family members who were taking a bat's side instead of their own blood. Severus on the other hand was shocked at seeing the Weasley's defending him from their own family members. As much as he hated to admit it, Ron was right about his new look. "Molly, there was no reason to be so harsh on the boy. He was telling the truth."

"Severus, Ron was just being a prat. He wasn't saying the truth, he was just trying to make fun of you," Bill said. Sitting next to Severus, he began on his meal while reading the newspaper that his dad had just finished. "For some reason that idiot thinks that since he's a war hero he can say anything he wants and people will agree with him."

"Are you sure it's not all the hits to the head?" Severus asked low enough that Molly and Arthur wouldn't hear him.

Tapping his chin, Bill said, "You know what? It might be that, too. But I like the idea that he was born stupid better."

XXXXXXxxxxXXXXXX

Soon after the Weasley's had finished their breakfast, Molly had sent the twins out on a errand, and Arthur had gone into the small shack to take apart some new Muggle technology that Harry and Hermione had gotten him for Christmas. Ron had gone out with Charlie to play some Quidditch, and Bill had gone into the sitting room to spend some time with Fleur, leaving Severus at the mercy of Molly Weasley. To make further proof to Severus that someone in Heaven hated him, Molly was giving him the look that clearly said she was ready to bother him about being single and not getting out to meet witches. Once she was finished washing the dishes and putting them away she set some water to boil and then made some tea for Severus and herself.

Severus braced himself as he saw Molly getting ready to talk him into going out with some woman who only cared if her robes made her butt look too big. " The twins told me they talked to you about accepting a job offer from them. You really ought to think about taking it Severus. You can't stay at Hogwarts for ever!"

_'Thank Merlin, she only wants to talk about the twin's job offer.'_

Taking a sip of her tea, she eyed him carefully before saying, "If you stay in the castle for the rest of your life, you're never going to meet a nice witch to date and marry."

_'Merlin? Do you really hate me that much?'_ Severus thought as he tried to form a explanation that would make Molly stray from the path everyone else seemed to be following. "Molly, I...appreciate your concern for me. But just trust me when I say that I'm not interested in finding a wife and settling down. I'm too broken for any woman to love me; and besides, who would want to be married to an ex-Death Eater?"

"Tsk. Severus, really. It's not that there isn't a woman out there for you. You're just too stubborn to go out and find her." Not bothering to listen to anything else Severus was planning on saying, Molly got up and took her empty cup to the sink. "You look tired, dear, why don't you go upstairs to the twins room and take a small nap?"

Deciding that arguing with a Weasley was going to go nowhere, Severus nodded and followed Molly upstairs to the twins room. With a promise that she would wake him up in time for dinner she left the room, and Severus found himself looking at some of the boxes that were stacked against a wall. Figuring that they were unfinished projects that the twins were working on, Severus cast a small Protego on himself just in case one of the boxes decided to explode while he was in the room. The last thought he had before falling asleep was on what the Granger girl would say if she found out that he would be working at the twin's shop.

XXXXXXxxxxXXXXXX

A couple of hours later, Severus found himself drowning in a sea of Gryffindors. Standing in a corner of the sitting room, Severus tried not to make eye contact with any of the other occupants, thus failing to see that Harry had made his way to stand next to him. "Enjoying the party, Professor?" The-boy-who-lived asked. Instead of answering, Severus just grunted in response, hoping that the boy would take the hint that he didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment, or better yet the whole evening.

"I know right now it looks boring, but I promise it's going to be one exciting night." Digging into his pockets, Harry pulled out a small box and opened it to show Severus. "What do you think, Professor?" He showed Severus a gold ring with a diamond and ruby in the middle, making it look a little like the 'yin and yang' sign. "It's not too extravagant, right?"

"Potter, if this is your way of asking for my hand in marriage, then I hate to tell you this, but I'm not interested," Severus said with as much hate he could put into the words.

Too bad for him Harry didn't pay attention to that detail and was softly chuckling. "Good one, sir. No, it's for Ginny. I thought that today would be as great as any time to ask her to marry me."

"You're going to ask my baby sister to marry you?" came Ron's voice as he stood in front of them with a plate full of food. "That's great, mate!"

"Thanks, Ron," Harry murmured as he and Severus both cleaned their dress shirts with a silent Scourgify charm. "Listen, could you hold on to this till later? I don't want it to accidentally fall out of my pocket and Ginny find it," he asked, giving Ron the ring

Severus tried to make his escape go unnoticed as the two young men were talking but was trapped when the Granger girl made her way to stand next to him blocking his escape route. "Harry! Is that Ginny's ring?" Hermione asked in an excited whisper. "It's so beautiful!"

"You know 'Mione," Ron said after placing the ring in his pocket. "If you would have stayed with me, then I would have given you a ring even more expensive. Not that the ring you got my sister doesn't look expensive, Harry," he added when he saw his best friend getting ready to chew him out for that comment.

"Ron, you're such an idiot. If it was money I was after, I would be with Draco. Besides, why would I WANT to be married to someone who acts like a four-year-old?"

"I don't act like a four-year-old!"

Taking a drink from her butterbeer, Hermione threw a glare at him. "Really, Ron? Because if I recall, Bill told me how you insulted Professor Snape because of how his hair looked."

"Aw, come on 'Mione!" Turning to Severus, Ron said, "Snape, you weren't insulted right?"

"Ron! First of all, it's Professor Snape; and secondly, just because he didn't say anything doesn't mean he wasn't insulted." Hermione said before Severus even had the chance to open his mouth.

"All right!" Harry said standing in between his two best friends. "This is no place to be fighting. You guys are scaring little Teddy, and I doubt Professor Snape wants to be dragged into your guy's problems. Now, why don't I go get some more drink for us? Professor, would you like some more punch?"

Before Severus had a chance to answer, Harry walked off leaving him with Ron and Hermione. Seeing how he was outnumbered in brain power, Ron turned away, looking for Lavander. Once he was gone Hermione turned to Severus and with a small smile said, "Sorry, about that, sir, but sometimes Ron needs to be brought down to Earth."

"That's fine, Miss Granger," Severus said lamely. Both stayed quiet, wondering why all of a sudden it had become awkward. "Thank you," Severus said so softly that Hermione almost didn't hear him.

"It was nothing, sir. You shouldn't have to put up with people like Ron who..." whatever she was going to say next was interrupted as a loud girlish scream made everyone's ears hurt. Lavender was jumping up and down hugging a confused looking Ron. Hermione and Severus watched in confusion as Lavender made her way towards them with a smug smile on her face. When she was in front of Hermione, she stuck out her left hand and showed off a beautiful engagement ring that had a diamond and ruby like the 'yin yang' sign.

'Isn't that the ring Harry bought for Ginny?' was the first thought that popped into both Hermione's and Severus' mind.

"Well?" Lavender asked, obviously annoyed.

"Well, what?" Hermione asked.

"Aren't you going to say something?"

"Sure, that's not your ring."

"Ha!" Lavender said in triumph. "I knew you would be jealous of my Ron. Why don't you just admit it, Granger. You're sorry you left him."

"In your dreams, Lavender. I don't want someone whose head is full of dragon dung, I want someone who's smart and not obsessed with Quidditch," Hermione shot back while trying not to make eye contact with Severus, who was standing behind her and whom Lavender had apparently not noticed yet.

With a sneering look she asked Hermione, "Oh, really? Like who, Snape? Sure, because he's **so** good looking!"

"Miss Brown," Severus said walking up to stand in front of her. His patience had run out for teenage drama, if he wasn't going to be granted a quiet Christmas, then he was going to have to resort to other means to make it a merry one for himself. Standing up to his full height he said in his most menacing voice, "That'll be fifty points from Gryffindor for disrespecting a Professor, and you will serve a week's worth of detention with Mr. Filch cleaning out the Owlery." He was pleased to see that Lavender was near tears. He hadn't felt that happy at taking points off Gryffindor and giving detentions since before Dumbledore's death.

"B-b-but, Professor! That's not fair!" Lavender said trying to go for the puppy-dog eyes that always seemed to work on her parents and Ron. "I didn't see you, sir. Otherwise I wouldn't have talked about you like that! I mean not like I talk about you like that when you aren't around..."

Raising a questioning eyebrow, Severus just kept looking on as Lavender tried to talked him out of giving her detention. While not really listening, the voice that was now Dumbledore stepped in and said, _'This, my dear boy, is one of the reasons why you should consider taking the twin's job offer. If you're away from the castle, then you won't have to deal with all the talk that goes on behind your back.'_

_'I don't know what affect you were hoping to get with that comment, old man, but I can tell you that it didn't help at all.'_

_'Really?' Dumbledore's voice asked._

_'...maybe....Now if you'll excuse me, I have some one I need to make cry.'_

_'Severus!'_

Focusing again, Severus held a hand up to silence the now frantic looking Lavender. "Miss Brown, I suggest you stop now. You dug yourself a nice looking grave five minutes ago. You'll report to Mr. Filch on the first day of the term after dinner. Now, kindly give that ring back to Mr. Weasley since it was not his to give to you, and get out of my sight, you silly girl."

Giving Severus one more pleading look, Lavender ran out of the sitting room to the backyard, crying and throwing the ring to the floor. It was silent for a while, and Severus was thinking that perhaps he had crossed some line and that Molly or Arthur where going to kick him out for being rude. Looking around he saw everyone in the room looking at him, not with anger, but in amusement. Locking eyes with Hermione, he saw that she seemed to be just as lost as he was. He saw the twins moving to stand in front of the youngest male Weasley and wonder what was going on.

"What!?" He finally asked irritated.

Harry just smiled and pointed at something above Hermione's and Severus' head. Looking up, both of them saw something that made them turn as red as a tomato. Hanging above them was a sprig of mistletoe, something neither Severus nor Hermione had noticed before. Breaking the silence, Molly said in an excited voice, "Don't just stand there, Severus! Kiss her already!"

"Are you insane!" Severus exclaimed. "She's my student. I can't kiss my students."

"Actually, sir," Harry said with the same huge smile as before. "'Mione isn't your student any more."

"Harry's right, Severus. She's not your student, now kiss her!" Minerva said as she took off an invisibility cloak. "Thank you Harry for lending this to me, but I can't see properly with this on."

Severus was at a loss for words with Minerva's sudden appearance. He had been wondering all night if she was going to show up or just try to stay as far away from him as possible until she was sure he wouldn't yell at her for embarrassing him that morning in the Great Hall. Crossing his arms he glared at everyone in the room. "I'm not kissing her!"

"It's okay, sir." Hermione said putting a hand on his arm. "I know you wouldn't kiss someone like me."

"Severus!"

"Mrs. Weasley! It's okay! It's not the end of the world if Professor Snape doesn't kiss me."

Walking up to Severus, Bill draped an arm across Severus' shoulders, "Come on mate, kiss the lass. Or what? She's not cute enough?"

"Bill...if you want to see your baby born, I suggest you go away," Severus said in a low voice. He was taken by surprise when he felt another arm drape itself over his shoulders, looking at the owner he saw the smiling face of Charlie.

"You can't leave a lady under the mistletoe, Sev." Looking over at Bill, Charlie winked and said in a mocking voice to Severus, "Oh, I get it. You're just too chicken to do it. Coward."

"I'm not a coward!"

"Then kiss her," Charlie and Bill chorused. "No one will leave until you kiss her." And with that, they moved back to stand with the rest of the guests, leaving Severus standing next to Hermione once again. Looking at her, he saw that she was blushing furiously. _'Of course her face is red, she's probably mad that everyone wants me to kiss her. Me! The Greasy Git.'_

"Oh, fine! Miss Granger, I'm terribly sorry for this, but if you want to blame someone, blame all of them!" Severus said pointing an accusing finger at everyone in front of them.

Looking down he saw her close her eyes and stand still._ 'Well, here goes nothing. Besides, they never said I had to kiss her on the mouth.' _Tilting his head slightly he started to lean down to kiss her. Hearing someone in the background yelling 'No!' he was taken by surprise when he felt someone bump into him, forcing him to move his head and kissing Hermione right on the lips. Blushing furiously he pulled back immediately, and he saw her looking at him with a shocked expression. He was surprised to see that she was even redder than before.

"NOOOOO! H-HERMIONE! HOW COULD YOU?!!"

Finding the source of the wailing, they saw Ron on the floor looking as if someone had just declared that Quidditch was no longer a sport. Behind him the twins were both standing facing each other with one foot sticking out in front of them and a smile on their faces. "Merry Christmas, Hermione and Severus!" The two of them said.

* * *

A/N- Please review! I love reading what you all think of my story.

Just a heads up, there are only seven more chapters to this story. -sniff, sniff- my baby is growing so fast!!! O _ o

So what I'm trying to say, is that if you have any suggestions or ideas I would be more than happy to hear them. :)


	12. Chapter 12 Explosions

_Disclaimer- And then, and then...I ended up not owning the Potter world. All characters belong to J. K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them._

A/N- Hey there everyone! Yeah, I'm still alive. I'm going to let you all in a little secret, I almost ALMOST gave up on writing and was contemplating putting my stories up for adoption. The reason: This past semester in college was a killer. I was disappointed and frustrated with some of my classes. I already had this chapter written since April but school got in the way and my inspiration was killed. A couple of days ago I was talking to a friend and with her kind words I was able to pick up on this story once again. So I took this chapter and fixed it completely. Now, I have the next chapter almost done and the chapter after that already planned out. I'm so proud of myself. : ) The good news is that I'll continue with this story and will not put it up for adoption.

A huge thank you goes out to my beta debjunk, she was a great help with her beta-ing skills and ideas. Also another huge thank you to _Love From A Muggle, _thank you for taking the time to read this and helping me with some ideas and the tittle.

I'm sure that you are all ready to start reading so go for it and let me know what you think of it. It's a long chapter just to make up for my long absence.

* * *

January 14th

A loud bang rang throughout Diagon Alley mid-afternoon. This had begun to become an almost daily occurrence since the New Year. If it wasn't loud bangs that caused the streets around the joke shop to shake, then it was fumes which caused the occupants of the joke shop to run out. The last time fumes had been involved for disturbing the peace, the three men who worked there had run out with cat ears and a tail.

"You would think that having a Potions master working for them now, we wouldn't have to worry about half of Diagon Alley disappearing," a costumer said to Mr. Ollivander. The old wand maker just continued to hand the man wand after wand trying to find the right one. "Besides," the man continued saying, "if you ask me, I say it was the worst thing those Weasleys could have done. Hiring that scum; he's probably poisoning all of their products."

"Yes, well, it's a good thing then that no one is asking you. Aha! Finally, well, that will be ten Galleons, sir."

"Took long enough," the man said irritated. "So, what's the core? Dragon? Phoenix?"

"What you have there is mermaid hair, maple wood, eight inches. Now, make sure no one steals this one too." Before the man could say anything else about the wand, Mr. Ollivander pushed him out the door and locked it, putting up the close sign. Once he was sure that the shop was secure he locked the door and made his way to wards the Weasley establishment.

-The second floor Weasley Wizard Wheezes, potions lab-

"Wow! That was loud," Fred said.

A few seconds later George managed to dig himself out from underneath all the packaging boxes they had on the second floor. "Yeah, my ears are still ringing. Hey, where's..."

"WEASLEY! I told you; I EVEN wrote it down twice! Do not add the beetle eyes until after you take the cauldron off the flame."

"Oh, good, we were afraid you'd blown to pieces, Sev'."

Grumbling a 'not lucky enough' Severus dug himself from all the boxes that were on top of him, wondering as he did so why he had taken the twin's offer to work with them. Once he was out, he made his way towards the cauldron and confirmed that Fred had indeed, for some reason known only to him, not followed the instructions. "At least there were no cat ears and tails," he said.

"About that...," Fred causally said as he came to stand next to Severus who was crouched down looking at the remains of the cauldron and table. "George and I have been thinking that perhaps we'd give those a chance."

"The ladies did love them when they saw us," George put in. "And it was pretty wicked having tails."

Severus was ready to snap at them when the floor gave a loud groan as it suddenly fell beneath their feet. Fred and George managed to jump back, but Severus wasn't able to do so. Expecting the usual kiss from the ground, Severus found himself looking into the surprised face of Mr. Ollivander. Looking up he saw that Fred and George had managed to grab hold of his legs. Turning to face the old wizard he said in a bore voice, "Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

ooooOoooo

Hermione had finally managed to receive a break from her studies at St. Mungo's and had decided to look around Diagon Alley to get a change of scenery. 'I should drop by to say hello to the twins. I really didn't get a chance to talk to them on Christmas or New Year's.' Happy to have decided a location to visit she made her way towards the twins shop.

After knowing the twins for so many years, Hermione was used to finding whatever building the twins were using to be a near war zone with angry mobs or mobs of pranksters in their vicinity. So, after balancing herself from the shock of the ground suddenly moving, she knew that the twins must have been working on something new for their shop. As she made her way towards the shop, she could her shouts from some angry people and the twins laughter. It was when she heard the Potions master voice that she stopped in her tracks. 'What is HE doing here? Oh, sweet Merlin, why? I can't face him, not after what happened at the Burrow on Christmas!'

Before she could turn back around and leave, George caught sight of her. Walking up to her,he pulled her into a hug. " 'Mione! You missed the fireworks! I think Fred and I just made some new prank items. Just don't tell Severus about it."

With an arm draped over her shoulders, George led her to the shop, where raised voices could still be heard. "You remember Severus, right? Ex-spy, Potions master, war hero, bloke you kissed just a couple of weeks ago. Surely you haven't already forgotten about him. After all, isn't he your dream man?"

"You must have hit your head George, because it's quite obvious you're delusional."

"I'm not the one who's delusional. You just don't want to admit you like him," George said in a teasing voice.

Hermione glare at him. "Are you done?"

"Not at all!" he exclaim. "I don't know why you are getting all defensive about it. He has gotten quite popular with the ladies. You should have been here last week. We were trying to make a potion that would let a person talk in what ever language they wanted so they wouldn't have to learn the spell, when the cauldron exploded. We didn't realize that the fumes had had an effect on us until we ran out of the shop. Next thing we know, the three of us are speaking in some odd language, and it just so happen that a group of witches from walked by as Sev' was talking to us, and they thought he was trying to woo them. The ladies went crazy when they heard him. Poor bloke had to take refuge over at Mr. Ollivander's place."

As she heard the story Hermione now knew why many of her classmates had been late to class last week. She had been the only student not to go out to Diagon Alley that day. Preferring to stay and study for an exam. When her class mates had returned she noticed that some of them looked as if they had ran a marathon. One girl was actually clutching to a piece of black fabric. Obviously, that had been part of a robe.

For some reason the thought that someone, or in this case a group of women, had been after Severus bugged Hermione.

"No one is asking for your opinion, you dunderhead!"

"Go play with your potion set, murderer!"

The new shouts shook Hermione out of her musings and back to reality. Looking in front of her, she saw Fred pointing his wand at an angry man while Mr. Ollivander was trying to force Severus back into the shop. The man who Fred was threatening to blow to pieces was calling Severus rude names, but as Hermione looked around to those watching the commotion she noticed that very few people actually shared the man's point of view. For that, Hermione was glad that many people had forgiven Severus for what he had to do during the war, knowing that the things he was force to do were on Dumbledore's orders so as to help Harry beat Voldemort. There were still people who believe Severus to be lying, but those were people known to have been supportive of Tom Riddle.

"Hermione, why don't you go on in? I'll help Fred out with this idiot." George said.

"No, just wait a minute George." Walking up to the man that now had his wand pointing at Severus, Hermione stopped in front of him. The man was tall, so her head barely reached his shoulder. She was glad to notice that he had a surprised look on his face. Apparently he thought she was going to back him up because his expression had changed from surprised to smug.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Hermione Granger. You see that, Snape. Even she knows I'm right."

A growl escaped Severus as he continued to try to free himself from and Fred's hold.

Hermione looked back at Severus and gave him a small smile. Seeing how Mr. Ollivander had taken her smile as a hint to take Severus back into the shop, Hermione turned back to the other man punching him straight in the jaw. The man had been so surprised at the physical attack that he fell flat on his bum.

"Now, I'm sure you'll understand when I ask of you to please refrain from making idiotic comments about Professor Snape. He's a war hero and has more courage than you have brain cells," Hermione said. She still had a small smile on her face as she said all that.

Fred and George quickly moved to her side as they saw that the man was not going to just take her threats and leave. " 'Mione, go on inside. We'll finish up here," Fred said.

Nodding, Hermione moved through the small crowd and entered the shop. Looking around, there was no doubt that the twins had been the ones to disturb the peace in Diagon Alley. Carefully walking around what Hermione guessed was the floor to the second floor, she made her way to the small room in the back of the shop where the employees would take their breaks.

Opening the door, Hermione saw Mr. Ollivander sitting on one of the sofas while Severus was pacing the room. She couldn't help the blush at the sight of him. The last time she had seen him was the day of the Kiss. She hadn't accepted the offer to spend New Year's at the Burrow since she knew that he would be there too. Because of that it had been a month since she had last seen him. But to her that Kiss was still fresh on her mind. Not even her first kiss from Viktor had stuck in her mind like the one she had received that Christmas.

"...no point in getting worked up, my boy."

"I'm not getting worked up!"

"If that's so, then why are you pacing?"

"..."

"Severus..."

"I'm walking off my temper!"

Deciding to rescue poor Mr. Ollivander from a grumpy Potions master, Hermione knocked on the door to get their attention. "Good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander, Professor."

ooooOoooo

"Ah! Miss Granger! Such a lovely surprise. Come in, my dear, come in." Standing up, Mr. Ollivander made his way towards Hermione and took her hand leading her to the sofa. All the while Severus had stood rooted in the same spot since she entered the room. He didn't think that he would have the chance to see her so soon after that day. Realizing he hadn't even acknowledge her, he cleared his throat and said a quiet hello. Severus watched as she avoided eye contact with him and instead began to talk to Mr. Ollivander.

_'She's probably disgusted at having to look at me after what happened at the Burrow.'_

_'Are you sure, my boy?' came Albus' voice. 'She looks embarrassed more than anything.'_

_'Of course I'm right, you old fool! Why wouldn't she be disgusted?'_

When no response came, Severus became even more angry and began once again to pace the room. But instead of thinking about how bad the last couple of weeks had been working for the Weasley's, all he could think about was the Kiss. He was certain that if it hadn't been for the idiot know as Ronald Weasley, the Kiss would have never happened. He could have gotten away with giving her a peck on the check and gone back to Hogwarts.

But because of the idiot known as Ronald Weasley, he had kissed Hermione on the lips. Severus came to a stop. That had been the first time that he had thought of her as Hermione and not 'the Granger girl' or 'the little-know-it-all'. Albus was definitely being a bad influence on him. He shouldn't be having thoughts like that, should he? He was so deep in thought that he nearly hexed George through the shop when the young man placed a hand on his shoulder.

Shrugging off the hand, Severus put his wand away and turned to make his way out of the room. Figuring that since the twins had returned to the shop, it was safe for him to leave the room without having to deal with idiots who had no idea what two plus two equaled. He was about to open the door when a loud gasp brought his attention to the couch.

"Something wrong, Miss Granger?"

"Sir, you're bleeding from the back of your head!" Hermione exclaimed as she stood from the couch and walked up to Severus. Grabbing one of his arms she dragged him to the couch and pushed him onto the seat.

Severus was so taken by surprise by the action that he barely registered the snickering that was coming from the twins.

Growling, he pulled away from Hermione and glared at her. "Miss Granger," he began with an icy tone. "If this is the way you plan on treating your patients, then I highly suggest that you choose a different career option."

"Well, sir, this is actually my way of dealing with patients that I know are more stubborn than a mule."

"Are you implying that I'm stubborn?" he asked.

"No, not implying, simply stating a fact. Now, hush and let me take care of that injury before it becomes infected."

Pulling his head away once more from her grasp, he said, "Unhand me this instant Miss Granger! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, you foolish girl!" With that he stormed out of the room slamming the door shut.

Later that day George was closing up shop and he saw that the light in the employees room was on. Opening the door he saw Severus sitting at the table that had been sat up for meals which at the moment was being used as a workstation, seeing as it was now buried underneath books and notes.

He almost gave himself away when he heard Severus' voice, but it seemed like the Potions master hadn't even notice he was there.

"Idiot! You just had to take the job didn't you? So what if it was the only way to get out of the castle? You're a grown man for crying out loud. You could just walk out of there and never return. Who cares what Minerva or Poppy say. You're better now. You don't need someone to keep a watch on you. You've been able to take care of yourself for the last 30 years.

You're almost 40 and you had to ask Poppy for permission to work at the shop. How pathetic. The insults are the same no matter where you go. And meddlesome people too. Who did that Granger girl think she is talking to me like that? "

Not being able to just stand there any longer listening as Severus insulted Hermione George cleared his throat and made his way to stand next to Severus.

"You didn't have to snap at her like that, Sev. She was just trying to help you. You can't deny that you are more stubborn than a mule. If she hadn't noticed you busted your head open, you wouldn't have noticed till you'd gone back to Hogwarts, and one of your students pointed it out to you."

Ignoring George's voice, Severus continued to work on his notes. He had started working on the new potion to restore George's ear, but so far he hadn't gotten very far. Now, it wasn't just the Kiss that was on his mind, but also the hurt look he had seen in Her...the Granger girl's eyes as he had snapped at her and stormed out of the room.

"You should apologize," George said. "Sev? Did you hear me?"

"It's Severus, not 'Sev'. And why should I apologize?"

"Because, you prat, it's the right thing to do."

Once again ignoring George, Severus began to put his notes and books away, He had been at the shop the whole day since he didn't have any Friday classes to teach, but he needed to return to Hogwarts before dinner ended. N.E.W.T'S were fast approaching, and he needed to prepare his seventh-years for the test. He hoped that with being worried if Longbottom or Potter were going to blow his classroom to pieces he wouldn't think about Her...the Granger girl.

Shrinking his notes, he stuck them inside his robes and walked past George towards the fireplace. "I have no reason to apologize to your little friend, George. If you don't like it, then fire me." With that last remark he threw some Floo powder into the flames and made his way back to Hogwarts.

oooOooo

February 10th

Hermione carefully cleaned the wound of her patient. It was a deep injury, muscle had been torn, and the bone deeply pierced. He had refused to take a Pain Relieving potion, which made Hermione even more nervous because removing a bear trap from the man's leg was harder to do when he looked ready to pass out. "Sir, are..."

"Granger, just do your job. I assure you I'm fine."

Seeing that he would remain stubborn as a troll she worked on trying to mend the bone. She had hoped that a healing spell would've been enough to mend it, like she had done with the muscle, because she didn't want him to suffer with the potion. But as she cast the scanning spell she knew that a mending spell was out of the question. After resetting the bone back in place she closed the wound and placed cooling balm on the raw skin then finished by wrapping that part of the leg with some bandages. Handing her patient the mending potion and making sure that he drank it, she began to clean everything up. "You should only need that one dose. Just make sure that you keep off that leg for today and tomorrow."

"Miss Granger?

"Yes, Professor?"

"I thought I made it clear, no pain relievers."

Hermione managed to catch the Potions master before he slid off the bed. "I'm sorry, sir. You're right you said no Pain Reliever. It was a Sleeping draught. I didn't want to, but you left me no choice," she whispered, setting his head on the pillow. After making sure he was all set to rest, she packed her things and quietly left the room. Waiting for her in the living room of the Burrow were Molly and the twins.

Fred and George looked like they had been given the scolding worthy of a five-year-old. If it wasn't for the fact that she was also mad with them, she would have felt bad about what she did next, which was giving them a sound smacking on the back of the head. "A bear trap? How in the world did the two of you get a bear trap? Better yet, why did the two of you have one in the first place?"

"We were just curious as to how they worked!" Fred said.

" 'Mione, we had no idea it did that. I mean we knew it did that, but why call it a bear trap if it's going to work on humans too?"

"That's enough!" Molly said coming to stand in between her two boys and an angry Hermione. "We'll talk about this later. Hermione, how's Severus?"

With a sigh Hermione said, "It's a miracle his leg didn't snap off completely. He'll be fine, he's sleeping now so just make sure that he stays in bed at least till tomorrow afternoon. Call Madam Pomfrey to check on him instead of me, please. I'm not even near starting my apprenticeship. Why did you call me instead of taking him to St. Mungos or calling Madam Pomfrey?"

"We did call Poppy, but she was busy with some first years who, well, let's just say that they wont be listening to the upper years anytime soon. As for St. Mungo's, they didn't even want to deal with it. They told us that their Muggle expert was on vacation. So, that's why we called you, dear."

"They gave their only Muggle expert a vacation without filling in his place?" Hermione asked.

"That's what they told us, dear," Molly said as she moved towards the kitchen.

Seeing that their mum was out of earshot the twins pulled Hermione to sit in between them on the small couch. "Now, speak. How is it that Sev's sleeping? We all know he would be down here trying to kill Fred and me. How did you get him to take a Pain Relieving Potion?"

"I didn't give him a Pain Relieving Potion," Hermione answered.

"Really now?" Fred ask.

"Then do tell us, Miss Granger," George said in the most serious voice he could manage. "How did you get him to ..."

George didn't finish his sentence and shared a look with this twin brother. Coming to an agreement Fred asked, "Did you spike his potion?"

Hermione crossed her arms across her lap and didn't look at either of the boys. As far as she was concerned, they knew nothing and didn't have any proof.

"Hermione? Did you really spike his potion?" George asked again.

Before a game of twenty questions could begin, Hermione stood and made her way to the kitchen. "I'm sure your mother needs some help making lunch. Why don't you boys get rid of that bear trap? And you better not just drop it off somewhere someone can find it."

oooOooo

Severus slowly began to wake up as the sound of someone opening the curtains reached his ears. Expecting a bright ray of light, he was surprised when the room remained dark. Keeping his eyes close he tried to make out the sound of thunder or rain. 'Must be just a cloudy day.' Lazily he sat up and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh, good, Severus, you're awake. How do you feel?"

"Confused. Why am I at the Burrow?"

"You don't recall yesterday's incident?"

"Do I want to?"

Molly couldn't help but chuckle at the comment. "Well, you should. I'm sure you'll want to thank Hermione for healing you."

"Healing me?" Severus asked in confusion. It wasn't until he tried lifting his left leg that he recalled what had happened the day before. "The bear trap! Where are the boys? I'd like to have little chat with them."

"According to my clock they're at Hogwarts. I guess they believed they were safer there than in the shop. What are you planning on doing to them, Severus?"

Severus thought for a couple of minutes about what he would do to Fred and George as payback for the bear trap. "I'll make them give me a raise, and they'll have to be my test subjects for a month."

"Do you think they'll agree?" Molly asked.

"Not bloody likely," murmured Severus.

Lying back down he heard Molly leave the room. She probably left to bring him something to eat. Every time he had to go to the Burrow, it seemed to Severus as if Molly thought it was her job to feed him until he couldn't even hear the word "food" any more. And lately, the twins had been making him drop by many times since he had started to work for them.

_'They all think they know what's best for me. Ha! If it's not Minerva asking if I've met anyone yet, it's Poppy checking in on me every five minutes. Do they think I'm some sort of an idiot who can't take care of himself like Lockhart?'_

_'No, my dear boy. They are just worried one day you might decided to not leave the dungeons.'_

_'Albus! You know that's not true. They just don't have anything better to do than bother me.'_

"Are you planning to thank Hermione for healing you?"

"No."

"And why not, Severus?" Poppy's voice came from the doorway.

"Poppy! I didn't hear you," Severus said as he sat back up in bed scolding himself for not paying attention to his surroundings. '_Some spy I am'_. He watched as Poppy entered the room and summoned a chair for herself setting it down next to him.

"Well, now, Severus, why are you not going to thank Hermione?" Knowing that Severus would take his time to answer her question she began to check his leg to make sure that it was fine. "She did a very good job healing your leg. There's no scarring what so ever. And the bone is mended perfectly. I do believe that deserves a 'Thank you', don't you think so?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"She, Poppy, had the nerve to spike the Bone Mending potion she game me. That's why!"

Severus remembered telling the Granger girl that he didn't need anything for the pain. But as always the Gryffindor know-it-all took it upon herself to know what he apparently needed.

"What did she spike it with?"

"A strong Sleeping potion. Poppy, you should..."

"And you," she said cutting him off. "A renowned Potions master couldn't tell that his potion contained something other than a Bone Mending potion until after he drank it?"

Severus could feel his face heating from embarrassment. He knew that Poppy was not going to stop until he admitted that the girl had done her job well. If he was honest with himself, then he would also agree that Her-...the Granger girl had done what he would've done in her place. He would also admit that he had been in a great deal of pain not to notice that the potion did contain something other than the Bone Mending potion. He also knew that had he admitted that he was in pain he would have chosen the Sleeping Potion over the Pain reliever. With the Sleeping draught the chances of him making a fool out of himself where slim. With the Pain Reliever, well, he didn't want to think about what he would have done.

"Severus," Poppy's voice pulled him from his thoughts. " I'm not asking you to shower Hermione with praise. I'm just asking you to thank her. Imagine how nervous she must have been!"

"Poppy, please. She looked calmer than a flobberworm," Severus said.

"Hermione, has the great ability to keep her cool during demanding times. Just because she didn't show signs of being scared doesn't mean that she wasn't. If you wont thank her for mending your leg, then at least thank her for standing up for you last month at the twins shop."

He had forgotten all about that incident. Hell, he didn't even know that's what she had done. After Ollivander had dragged him back into the shop he paid no attention to the commotion outside. He had wondered though why the girl had been nursing her hand when she had walked into the staff room.

"So, Severus, do I have your word that you'll thank Hermione?"

Severus didn't agree to thank Her...the Granger girl, but he also didn't tell Poppy that he wasn't going to do so. Truth be told he was actually considering the consequences of sending her a "thank you" letter. It might open up an opportunity to start a correspondence with her. But as soon as he thought of that, he sent the idea to the darkest realms of hell

ooooOoooo

February 12

_Miss Granger_

_Thank you_

_S.S._

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Please Review! Reviews feed the soul.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer- Oh, how I wish I did own it. But the lucky owner of Harry Potter is J. K. Rowling. I'm merely borrowing the characters for fun.

_A/N- *Peeks from behind Hagrid.*_

_Hi there! *puts on stupid grin* So, this is an update. One that I know many of you have been looking forward to. Trust me, things are about to get interesting. I'll try to update every month or so. I hate not updating for months but sometimes things get in the way. Thanks to all of those who have sent reviews, put this story on alert and have faved it. It means a lot to me to see that people like this story. Don't stop reviewing! I love reading all of your comments. _

_A huge thanks to my amazing, super awesome beta debjunk! She's like WonderWoman. Totally awesome._

_Anyhow, here's chapter thirteen, please review! Thanks!_

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February 14

Severus was not having a good day. Not that he ever had a good day, but today was particularly bad. He'd been forced to Floo the shop and inform the twins that he would not be able to work that morning because Slughorn had deemed it a good day to fall ill. On Valentine's Day, just when Minerva had announced that cupids had been hired to deliver tokens from admires.

It was nearing third period, soon he would have his N.E.W.T. class making their way to the Potions lab. He hoped that by now all of the cupids had finished their work. The last three he had kicked out had all screamed in terror and begged him not to turn them into potion ingredients.

Hearing voices outside the classroom Severus went to open the door and allow the handful of N.E.W.T. students to enter. He almost misses the small smile Potter threw at him as the boy walked by. He didn't like that smile, it reminded him too much of the all-knowing smile Albus used to throw at him. For some reason, it made him think that Potter knew he had sent a note to Her…the little know-it-all.

Mentally shaking himself, Severus moved to the front of the classroom. Just as he was about to start with the lesson, he noticed that somehow one of those blasted cupids had managed to sneak in. The small creature was trying to discretely deliver something to Longbottom. Severus smirked at the thought that if he were to sneak up on the creature, it might just suffer a heart attack.

Glaring at those who had seen him take note of the cupid to keep quiet he slowly walked up to the creature that had its back to him. The cupid stopped moving as it became aware that someone was standing behind it. Slowly the creature turned around and, as soon as it saw Severus, it flew. Severus had not expected that move, usually they had been too scared to move, and he would drag them by their bow and throw them out of the lab.

But this one had thought that hiding under one of the tables was going to save it. Casting a levitating spell, Severus was taken by surprise when it was reflected with force enough to send him flying across the room. Hitting the dungeon wall, he was confused when the impact hadn't hurt him. Looking around he saw that Potter had his wand out. The boy had used a cushioning charm.

Standing up, he summoned his wand and made his way again to where the cupid was taking refuge. Obviously, the small creature was so scared that he was using magic to protect itself. Severus had neither the time nor the patience to try and talk to it. Pointing his wand at the classroom door, he opened it and walked back to the front of the room. He hoped that the creature would have enough brains to figure out it was free to leave without harm.

As soon as he turned back around from where he stood he saw the cupid run out the door, almost as fast as a snitch, saying "Damn fangirls!"

Severus took a deep breath and tried to fight off the headache that was threatening to attack. He hated Valentine's Day.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

Hermione sat in her room inside Number 12 Grimmauld Place trying to stop the tears that fell from her eyes. Her body shook with uncontrollable sobs as she re-played the day's accident in her mind over and over again. She didn't even notice Kreacher popping into the room and leaving her a warm cup of tea with a Stasis charm on it. Nothing was going to pull her out of her thoughts. After what felt like an eternity of crying she fell asleep hugging a worn photograph to her chest. Croonshanks, seeing his Hermione had fallen asleep, climbed onto the bed and placed himself next to her side. He would make sure not one person would disturb his human.

Hermione woke up several hours later, disoriented. The purring she heard overhead told her that Crookshanks had taken to sleeping near her stomach, something he often did when he saw she was upset.

She didn't want to get up, but her body was screaming at her to get up and move. Not to mention that her stomach was demanding it be fed. Slowly sitting up, she placed the photograph she had been clutching to on her nightstand. Seeing the cup of tea she realized that Kreacher must have left it for her. Taking off the Stasis charm she took slow sips, hoping that her stomach would leave her alone. After finishing her tea, her stomach, much to her embarrassment, growled ever louder, telling her that it wasn't a plant and required more than that to shut it up.

Leaving her room, she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen; expecting to find Kreacher doing some cleaning, the room was empty. A note with her name on it sat on the table. Recognizing Harry's writing, she picked it up and read it. It said that he had planned a big Valentine's dinner for Ginny and himself and needed Kreacher's help for the rest of the night.

Hermione had hoped to sleep through Valentine's Day, but a look at the clock in the kitchen told her it was barely eight at night. Not wanting to stay in the house all by herself, she left Crookshanks a bowl of food and milk for when he came down and went upstairs to wash her face. After making sure she had money for whatever the night might bring, she went back downstairs, pulled her warmest coat on, and stepped outside. With one last check to make sure she had everything her wand was in her coat, she turned on the spot and Apparated to Diagon Alley.

Once she made it, she didn't really know where to go. She decided to start walking around until she found a place that caught her eye. As Hermione walked, she couldn't help but notice all the couples that were there. Not being able to look at the people, she focused on the shops. Coming to a stop at Madam Malkin's she saw the display for men's winter coats. Looking at a black wool coat she thought that it looked exactly like the one Professor Snape had back in her first year: the one she had set fire to. She remembered that after that match she hadn't seen him wear it ever again, meaning that it had probably been too damaged to repair by magic.

Hermione didn't know what made her do it, but fifteen minutes later she found herself walking out of Madam Malkin's with the coat wrapped and shrunk in her coat pocket. Walking again mindlessly she berated herself for buying the coat.

"Honestly woman! How are you going to explain why you bought it for him? You can't send it anonymously because he'll become paranoid and burn it. But if you tell him why you bought it, it'll be a miracle if he doesn't hex you half way across the world."

Focusing once again on her surroundings, she found herself standing in front of the twin's shop, but the place was closed for the night. It seemed the twins had taken their girlfriends out for a romantic dinner. Well, as romantic as it can get with two trouble makers.

"Great," she said to herself. "Now where do I go?"

"Miss Granger?"

Hermione froze; she knew only one man with that voice. That silky smooth voice. Severus Snape.

'_Oh, sweet Merlin! I must have drawn him to me by thinking of him! Great, now I sound like Trelawney.'_

Bracing herself for whatever attack he was likely to throw at her, she turned around to face him.

_**XOXOXOXOXOXO**_

Severus had managed to leave the castle after his last class. He didn't think he could stand being there any longer with all those cupids still there. Some first-years had had the nerve to send him gifts! To discourage any more of his students from sending him anything, he burned every single gift he received in front of his class. Soon the news spread, and he had been gift free for the rest of the day.

Once his last class had ended, he had made his way to his office ready to Floo to the shop. The boys had told him that they would be out for the night, and with those two monsters out of his hair, he could get some work done.

Much to his chagrin, the twins had blocked off the Floo, meaning he would have to Apparate to Diagon Alley. He arrived a few minutes later only to find that the shop was heavily warded, and if he tried to remove all the wards he wouldn't have the energy to work. Trying to figure out where he could go to work quietly, he walked back towards the Leaky Cauldron almost walking straight into none other than Hermione Granger.

She, of course, hadn't noticed where she was going. With a snarky comment at the tip of his tongue, he changed his mind when he saw the look on her face. Deciding to follow her, he noticed she was walking in the direction to the twin's shop. As they walked, he cleared the way for her. Had he not been there, she would have walked into some trash bins, people, and not to mention, a light post.

He wondered why she was alone on Valentine's Day. He figured being one-third of the Golden Trio automatically gave you a date for each day of the week.

Seeing how she was dressed, he discarded the idea of her meeting anyone for a date. She didn't look horrible, but she certainly didn't look like she was meeting a date.

He curled his lips in disgust as he realized that he had said she didn't look horrible. _'Well, at least I didn't say cute, beautiful, gorgeous.'_

Severus looked around expecting to see and army of Aurors getting ready to send him to Azkaban for even thinking about Her…Granger. 'But then again, if the Ministry were to swoop down on every individual for having any thoughts about Hermione…the Granger girl, then Azkaban would be so full, the Dementors wouldn't know what to do with all the prisoners.'

Seeing the girl stop in front of the shop, he stood a couple of feet away from her. When he saw her shoulders droop he decided to let his presence be known. "Miss Granger?" Whew! He managed to say Miss Granger and not Hermione!

He saw her stiffen and wondered if she had recognized his voice and was getting ready to run. Severus, for some reason, was hoping she would ignore him and walk away. He truly didn't know what he was going to do if she started up a conversation. He hadn't thought past following her and calling her name.

Severus stood with his arms crossed as he waited for her to either run or turn around, trying to look menacing, but knew it was impossible. He had heard some of the female students say that he no longer looked evil but mysteriously sexy. Again, another reason why he had wanted to work at the shop to find a solution to whatever it was that had been in the goo that wouldn't allow his hair to grow back to shoulder length.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she turned around. Chin held up and shoulders square. She looked like she was ready to go into battle, though the purple scarf she had wrapped around her neck killed the image somewhat.

"Professor Snape," her voice was steady even though he could see she was slightly shaking, probably from the cold.

Taking a couple more steps forward, Severus stood close to her, leaving but a foot or so of space between them. Looking down into her eyes he couldn't help but notice that they were red, as if she had been crying. "Miss Granger, don't you think it's rather late to be in Diagon Alley by yourself?"

"I am not a student anymore with a curfew, but an adult and can take care of myself."

There was a small part of his brain screaming out for him to keep his mouth shut, but Severus ignored it. "Really now? If you're such an adult Miss Granger," lowering his head down to hers he hissed. "Then why were you mindlessly walking through Diagon Alley, and why does your stomach sound like Ronal Weasley's?"

Lifting his head, he saw that she had turned scarlet at the knowledge that he could hear her stomach. It was a wonder the whole Alley couldn't hear it.

"W-we-well, you see, that's why I came here. I didn't feel like cooking. Why are you here, sir?"

He wasn't going to let her off so easily. He didn't know why he cared, but he knew there was something wrong with her, and he was going to find out what it was. But instead of forcing her to tell him, he would have to try a different approach. The next words surprised even him. It certainly wasn't what he had been planning, but he said it anyway. "Would you like to go out to dinner, Miss Granger?"

If he was surprised, it was nothing to how she looked. Her eyes were ready to pop out. Really now, she made quite an amusing sight. "Well?" he asked trying to sound impatient.

"O-of course, sir. Tha…" she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because as soon as she had agreed, he had turned around, motioning her to follow, and walked back to the Leaky Cauldron.

He didn't even notice that she was having a hard time keeping up with his long strides. His thoughts entirely were on why he had asked her to dinner. Was it her growling stomach? No, nothing he could say could replace the true reason. The reason he knew, but didn't want to admit.

He was starting to feel something, a tug at his heart for Hermione…_'damn.'_


	14. Chapter 14 Attack of the Cupids

_Disclaimer- Mwahahahahahahahahaha! I don't own it! I don't own Harry Potter! -goes cries in a corner-_

A/N- I have a headache...BUT on the plus side, I just got back from watching Deathly Hollows for the second time now.

Anyhow, remember how I said I was almost done with this chapter? Yeah, not going to happen. You're all stuck with me for a little longer . I can't say how long this story is going to be but I hope you all stay for the ride.

A huge thanks to my beta _debjunk _ for once again working her magic. If you haven't read her latest story, "_More than Brushstrokes", _check it out when you have time.

_**Important, please read!**_

I'm currently looking for a anime beta for "Spell Magic", who knows about Ouran High School Host Club. If you would like to beta for me, then please send me a PM. Thank you!

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"Sir? Could you please slow down?"

"What?"

"I said, could you please… slow down?"

Severus stopped walking and watched with amusement as the Granger girl stopped in front of him, trying to catch her breath.

"Miss Granger, please keep up; I don't have all night."

"Sir, I can't walk as fast as you! If you haven't noticed I'm rather short!"

Actually, he had noticed how short she was. Her head barely reached his shoulders and were she to rest her head on his chest, she would be able to hear the beating of his heart.

Before he could comment though, he caught slight movement behind the know-it-all. To his horror it was a gang of cupids. To be precise, it was the group of cupids that just happened to be the same ones he terrorized all day. They didn't seem to be very happy.

Without thinking, he grabbed the Granger girl's hand pulling her as he started to run towards the Apparation point. He heard the shouts of the Gryffindor but ignored them as he continued to run. Luckily for him, there were too many people around for the cupids to shoot their arrows at him.

As soon as they reached the Apparation site, he pulled Hermione in to his arms and ordered her to hold on. The last thing he saw was the cupids aiming their arrow at them before turning on the spot and Disapparating.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX

There was a loud pop as two people suddenly appeared in the alley of Muggle London. To any onlooker it would have seemed like they were having a private moment of romance and not look as if they had just run away from small creatures with bows and hearts.

"….what….was….that….about?" Hermione asked as she tried catching her breath once again.

That had been enough for Severus to realize that he was still holding her close to himself. Quickly he dropped his arms and stepped away from her. "M-my a-a-apologies, Her…Miss Granger,' he stuttered, inwardly cursing himself for sounding like a teenage boy. "It was necessary for us to leave right away."

Taking one last big breath, she glared at him. "So, where are we?"

Severus fought not to let his lips twitch in amusement as he took in her appearance. Her hair, if possible, was even bushier than normal. Her blue coat was hanging off her shoulders, and her cheeks were pink from their run-in with the cold night air. Looking at her he couldn't understand why men weren't throwing themselves at her feet. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat. "I brought us to a small restaurant in Muggle London. Do you have any objections?"

Hermione wanted nothing more than to slap him and tell him off for dragging her half-way across the city. She deemed it a miracle that they hadn't Splinched themselves as they had Apparated so suddenly.

"No objections at all," she said with a smug smile on her face. "But I do have to wonder as to what restaurant is going to let you in whist wearing your teaching robes."

She watched as he realized that she was right and cursed under his breath. He took his wand out and transfigured his robes into some charcoal colour dress pants, a blue button-up shirt and matching charcoal jacket. He fished in around his pockets for something. Hermione wondered if it was money he was looking for.

"Sir? What are you looking for?"

His blush was barely noticeable, but she could still see it. "I'm looking for something to transfigure into a coat. I'm sure you've noticed it's still snowing."

Without thinking, she took out the small parcel from her pockets, enlarged it and handed it to him.

He in turn raised an eyebrow at her. "And what, pray tell, is that?"

"It's a coat." Once the words were out of her mouth she realized her mistake. How was she supposed to explain why she just happened to have a coat with her? This was Severus Snape, not Ron Weasely. She wasn't going to be able to just make something up, making it sound smart so he would leave her alone. No, that would be rather dumb to try.

"Do you make it a habit to carry extra coats with you?"

"Uhmm...No. I just bought this for my father. It's a birthday gift for him."

"Really?" He said with a snide tone.

"Yes, really. Now, either take the damn cloak or freeze to death."

Severus looked at her with stunned eyes. She just cursed at him and was rude to him. That wasn't the Hermione he knew, or maybe he just didn't know what the real Hermione was actually like. The only time he had been with her outside of school was after he had awaken from the injuries Nagini had inflicted on him. But even then the only interaction between them was that of him screaming at her to leaver him alone. Maybe this was the real reason why he didn't get along with others. He never got to know them. If they were students, he never bothered to keep up with them after they left his classroom. As for his fellow teachers, he never bothered getting to know them because as a spy he couldn't afford to make friends, or to get close to anyone in fear that if Voldemort ever rose, they might be in danger.

Would it be so bad now to get close to someone? To become friends with his ex-students?

Snatching the cloak away from her, he put it on and began to walk away from her. "If it means you'll shut up, then I'll take the damn cloak."

One step at a time. He didn't have to be nice right off the bat.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX

Watching the retreating back of the Potions master she followed suit.

Walking next to him she couldn't help but wonder why she had ever thought he could change. He would always have the same nose, the same greasy looking hair, and the same scowl. Surviving the War did nothing, and she wasn't going to change anything either.

"Sir, why did you stay at Hogwarts?"

"It's none of your business," he said bluntly.

"But it's obvious you hate teaching, hate the students. Why bother staying there if it makes you miserable?"

He was quiet for a long time making Hermione think that she wasn't going to get a answer. It wasn't 'till they got to the restaurant and were seated that he spoke.

"Even if the Ministry cleared me of all charges, it does not mean that the rest of our world has. As you saw in Diagon Alley the day you were there, people believe that I am s,till a Death Eater and that I am not sorry for what I had to do during the war. Who would want to hire someone with my past." When he saw that she was about to interrupt him, he quickly held up a hand. "I know what you are going to say. What about the Weasleys? They don't count for the mere reason that they were in the Order and thus know all the truth."

It was now Hermione's turn to be quiet. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. The only reason the twins had not giving his past a second thought was because they knew what had happened during the war. They heard from Harry himself what had really happened and knew that all the things Snape did were to protect his post as spy and make sure that Harry was able to defeat Tom Riddle.

Smiling a little to herself she set to looking at the menu. Maybe he wasn't too much of a prick. But he still had the social skills of a bear.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX

As far as he was concern that was him being nice. He answered her questions without being too mean. His reward? She was quiet throughout the whole meal. For that he was happy, because he really didn't know what they could possible talk about. He was quite certain that there was nothing they had in common. Well, besides reading the entire stock of books the Hogwarts library had.

Once they were done, he paid for both of them after glaring at the know-it-all to put her money away. He helped her put her coat on which knew he surprised her further. For some reason that made him smirk. Throwing people off was something he had missed doing, usually people didn't talk to him for fear of his acid tongue.

They slowly walked back to the Apparation point and were soon there when a noise from the crowd caught their attention. Pushing through the crowd were what looked like a group of small men wearing dippers. As soon as he saw them, Severus' entire body froze. _'How the hell did they find me?'_

"Are those real cupids?" Hermione asked as quietly as she could so no Muggle could hear her.

"Yes."

"What are they doing here?"

Slowly backing away, Severus took hold of Hermione's hand pulling her with him. "Who cares? Let's just leave."

"THERE HE IS!"

Severus didn't bother turning around. The arrow that barely missed his head was enough proof that they had spotted him. He knew they had him, he couldn't Apparate where they were because the Muggles, would see them and the Ministry would not be happy. Not to mention they would all get a good laugh when they found it was him the Cupids were chasing. Nope, best thing to do now was to once again try and out run them.

Lucky for him, Hermione caught on to what was happening and was now running as fast as she could. They soon found themselves in a park, taking this as a chance to not be seen by Muggles, Hermione began shooting Stunners at the Cupids.

As they ran, they still kept dodging the arrows that were being shot at them. When one of the Cupids fell causing the rest to trip over their fallen comrade, Severus took that opportunity to shoot a Stunning spell at them. As soon as they all fell still, Hermione waved her wand and sent them back to the Cupid agency that was located in Diagon Alley.

Turning to look at her, they both started to laugh. Severus felt like an idiot just standing there laughing, but he couldn't help it. Finally composing himself he said to her, "Your aiming has gotten a lot better than when you were in my classroom."

"Yes, well... there's an arrow in your butt!"

Right away he felt a sting as the arrow disappeared. "Oh, bugger." Looking back at Hermione his vision began to get misty. His body became warm, and he was suddenly feeling very loved.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX

Hermione saw the change immediately. Severus' eyes became glassy, and his expression changed to that of someone who was happily drunk.

Cautiously walking up to him, she touched his arm in order to get his attention. "Sir, are you okay?"

Without warning, he grabbed her hand and brought her up to his body. "Hermione, such a beautiful name. You're such a beautiful woman."

She couldn't help the blush that graced her face at his words. She knew he didn't mean them, it was just the effects of the cupid arrow. Trying to push him away, she tried to remember if Cupid arrows were made from the same ingredients as a Love potion. She hope so, or at least hoped that the effects would wear off in a couple of hours.

"Sir, let go please. We should go before we freeze to death."

"But with you in my arms, Hermione, I don't feel the cold."

_'Perfect. Now he's turning this into some sappy novel.'_

"And Hermione, call me Severus."

_Please review!_


	15. Chapter 15 Wine and Plans

_Disclaimer- I. DO. NOT. OWN. IT!_

A/N- Oh look! An update! :O

Thanks to my beta debjunk for making this possible.

* * *

"And Hermione, call me Severus."

For her, it was like watching a film in slow motion. Hermione felt as if time had slowed down as she watched Severus lean in closer to her lips, closing his eyes and pulling her against his body. She could feel the heat and the leanness of his frame.

"_What should I do?" _she screamed in her mind.

"_Kiss him back you idiot!"_

"_What? I can't do that?" _Hermione argued back.

"_And why not?" _her conscience asked. _"He has very kissable lips. Don't you want to know what it's like to __**really **__kiss Severus Snape?"_

"_He's under the influence of the Cupid arrow. He doesn't really want to kiss me!"_

"_Are you sure?"_ her conscience slyly asked.

Before she could answer, his lips had finally touched hers, making her mind go blank for the first time in her life. She knew she shouldn't be kissing him, knew that wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer was a big mistake.

Incidentally, her first-best kiss had been from Severus and now he was giving her the second-best kiss in her life.

OxOxOxOxOxOxOxOxOxO

The snow crunched under their feet as the young couple made their way through the park. They had decided to venture out into the Muggle world in hopes of finding some peace from the Wizarding world. Walking closely together to keep warm, the young woman turned her head and saw what seemed to be two people standing together. Getting a glance at their faces made her stop in her tracks.

"Draco?"

"What's wrong, Astoria?"

"Is that Granger and Professor Snape snogging?" she asked, hoping that Draco would tell her she was just seeing things.

"Merlin's pants! Will you look at that. No shame whatsoever. Snogging where anyone could see them. Tsk tsk, Uncle Severus!" Draco said with mirth in his voice. Who would have thought that his Godfather would be snogging in the middle of a park... and with Hermione Granger, no less.

Resting her head against Draco's arm, Astoria said, "Hmm. I think it's cute."

"Cute and Severus Snape do not go hand-in-hand, my dear."

"In my opinion, I think they do."

Looking down at this fiancé, Draco leaned in to whisper seductively, " In_ my _opinion, I think I need to get you home so we can do some snogging of our own. What do you say?"

"Such elegance, Draco. But just one minute." Letting go of Draco's arm she walked a few of steps towards the kissing couple.

"What are you going to do?" Draco asked as he walked up behind her. She turned her head to look at him and waved him a wink. Turning back around she cupped her hands in front of her face and took a deep breath.

"GET A ROOM!"

"ASTORIA!" Grabbing her by her shoulder, Draco quickly pulled her to him and Disapparated. Her laughter following them as they left the park.

OxOxOxOxOxOxOxOxOxO

A loud shout made Hermione pull away from Severus. Looking around, she couldn't find the person who had shouted. She could have sworn she heard someone scream, "Get a room". But as she scanned the park, there was no one in sight, it was completely empty.

"Hermione?"

He had said her name in almost a whisper, but it was as if he had spoken loud and clear to her. Turning back to look at him, she was startled to see his face mere inches from hers. The urge to launch herself at him and snog him senseless was forcing its way through her, making her shake slightly. Her slight shiver did not go unnoticed by Severus.

"What a fool I've been! My dear you must be cold." Stepping away from her, Severus quickly took his coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders. Slowly, his hand caressed her cheek as he looked into her eyes. "You truly are a beautiful woman, Hermione."

"_It's the arrow talking. Not him. Severus Snape would never call me beautiful. I have to think of a way to get him to Grimmauld Place."_

"_Or you could just kiss him again," _her conscience said.

Ignoring the voice, Hermione did her best to look shy and said, "Severus, why don't we go to a more, private place. Grimmauld is just a couple of minutes away. We could sit by the fire and drink some wine."

"_Oh, nicely done my dear. Very cliché of you."_

With a raise of his eyebrows, Severus took her by her hand and checked their surroundings to make sure no one else was watching them. Putting his arm around her waist, he turned and Apparated them to Grimmauld Place.

OxOxOxOxOxOxOxOxOxO

The house was quiet as the two of them Apparated inside the kitchen. It seemed to Hermione that Kreacher was still at Hogwarts helping Harry with his dinner plans for Ginny. She was sure they were doing better than she was at the moment. Neither of them had to deal with a love-sick Potions master, it was just her good luck that she had to. All she had wanted was just a quiet night, alone and miserable. But did she get that? No. What she got was a night of being chased from one end of the city to the other by a mob of angry cupids.

Not to mention, she now had to figure out how to reverse the effects of the Cupid's arrow and how to stop Severus (as he so passionately asked her to call him) from ravishing her. It was the recipe for a lovely Valentines day.

"So, Hermione, here we are; Grimmauld Place," Severus said, his voice transforming itself into a deep and silky velvet.

"_Oh, Merlin, how am I suppose to think when he's talking like that?" _she wondered to herself.

"_Easy," _her conscience replied_. "Forget finding a cure for the arrow, and just go at it like rabbits."_

"_All right, tell me the truth, this is actually Fred and George right? There's no way my mind would be thinking things like that."_

Receiving no answer, Hermione focused once again on the man before her. The man who was now unbuttoning his dress shirt and tossing his tie over his shoulder. _"This cannot bode well," _she thought.

"Severus," she said grabbing his hands to stop him from stripping any more clothes.

"Yes?"

She forced her mind to think of something to say. "Why don't you go to the sitting room? While you start the fire, I'll go get the wine."

"Fabulous idea, my dear," he said, taking her had and kissing it. Winking at her, he turned and made his way up the hall and into the sitting room.

Once she was sure he was in the other room, she rushed to the kitchen and opened up the a separate Floo connection. She needed help, and she needed it now. There was no way she was going to be able to handle Severus on her own.

"Hermione? Do hurry, my darling. Every second without you is like a lifetime of torture."

"You have got to be kidding me," she mumbled as she looked for the small container of Floo powder. "I'll be there in a couple of minutes!" she yelled. "Stay where you are, I just have to find some clean glasses."

"Do you need help?" he called back.

"No!" her voice was almost a shriek by then. She didn't want him to see she was trying to contact someone to help her. In his state of mind he could become very jealous. She's seen an angry Severus; she didn't want to know what an angry, jealous Severus looked like. "No, don't worry, I'll just find something to transfigure in glasses."

"McGonagall's office, Hogwarts," she spoke quietly into the fire.

Sticking her head inside the fireplace she was disappointed when there was no one in the office. She didn't think it was late enough for the Headmistress to be sleeping already. Pulling her head out, she tried another connection, "Hogwarts Infirmary, Madam Poppy's office."

Again, no one was to be seen. "This cannot honestly be happening to me," Hermione said angrily. Trying one last connection before Severus became suspicious and decided to investigate, she said "The Burrow!"

The sitting room of the Weasley household was dark, the whole house seemed to be quiet and unoccupied. "Molly? Arthur?" she called out. When no one answered she closed the connection and sat on the cold stone floor. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she couldn't help the sadness that engulfed her. There was no one else she could contact. The three women she had always thought would be there for here were off doing Merlin knew what. She had to figure out on her own what to do now. If she messed up, well there was nothing to be done about it. And if she didn't, well, hopefully Severus wouldn't be able to recall any of the night's events.

Taking one deep breath, Hermione stood up, brushing off her jeans and walking to the cupboard where she knew Kreacher kept the wine glasses. After pulling them down she searched the kitchen for a wine bottle and found one in the pantry. As she looked at the bottle, she was hit by an idea. She just hoped she could pull it off a second time.


	16. Chapter 16 Treasure Box

_Disclaimer - I do not own it. I do not own it. I do not own it!_

_A/N - I wonder if people will read this... It's been so long since I last updated and all I can say is that I'm so sorry. RL and lack of motivation have forced me to put this aside, but now I'm back! I will try to update one chapter a month unless I can write faster or feel like posting more than once. If anyone would like to beta for me I would really appreciate it. I have one beta but would love to have two._

_With that, thank you to starlight moon princess for taking the time to look this over!_

_If you would like to get sneak peeks of future chapters, look for me on Facebook! Just type "Slytherin Head" and hit like to get updates on this and other stories I'm working on!_

_Happy reading!_

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Chapter 16

_Previously-_

_Taking one deep breath, Hermione stood up, brushing off her jeans and walking to the cupboard where she knew Kreacher kept the wine glasses. After pulling them down she searched the kitchen for a wine bottled and found one in the pantry. As she looked at the bottle, she was hit by an idea. She just hoped she could pull it off a second time._

V(_)V

Looking at her reflection in the fogged up mirror, Hermione couldn't help but think about how things seemed to have gone horribly wrong since the end of the war. Maybe she was exaggerating things. But thinking about everything that had happened since then, she couldn't help but stop herself from thinking that maybe perhaps, just maybe, Trelawney was casting some sort of crazy voodoo on her. How else was she to explain the reason behind her 'brilliant' plan falling apart faster than Neville Longbottom during first year Potions class?

The plan had been seemed pretty simple.

Step one: Drug the lovesick Potions master with a Sleeping Potion.

Step two: Run like hell and find a safe place to hide.

See? Simple. Even Ron would have had a difficult time messing that plan up. And yet, she had been the one unable to pull it off. All because she had accidentally taken a drink from the wrong glass. Why had she taken the wrong glass you may ask? It certainly couldn't have had been anything to do with the fact that as soon as she sat down to sit next to him near the fireplace, Severus Snape decided it was time to give her the best snog of her life.

Yes, _definitely_ didn't have anything to do with that.

Waking up with Severus Snape spooned behind you was something out of the Twilight Zone. Comfortable? Yes. Awkward? Only after the first ten seconds of trying to shake the sleep out of their eyes and realizing what was going on. The reaction? Priceless and loud.

Hermione was only thankful that the house was soundproof, or else she knew the authorities definitely would have been called, and then she would have to explain why the portraits were screaming 'FILTHY MUGGLES! DIE!' Somehow she didn't think telling the officers that it was the latest in burglar system models was something they would believe.

So much for staying home and crying her eyes out on Valentine's day. If she had just stayed home none of this would have occurred. She would have never come across Professor Snape, nor would she have gone to dinner with him, and a gang of angry Cupids would definitely not have chased her across the city.

Honestly! Where did the company get those Cupids? Who hires angry little men to deliver gifts of love?

Never in a million years did she ever think she would have ever found herself in that situation with Professor Snape. Just thinking about it made her blush a deep scarlet to the roots of her hair. How many girls would have killed to have had a love-sick Severus Snape in their home? She was sure that if they knew, half of the girls at Hogwarts right now would be trying to look up the most nastiest hexes to send her way. After all, he was now the most sought out bachelor in all of the United Kingdom. It would have been her fourth year all over again.

Hermione could only count her lucky stars that Rita hadn't been anywhere in Muggle London last night. She could just see the tabloids:

**HERMIONE GRANGER STRIKES AGAIN!**

**It seems this girl can't keep it in her robes, ladies and gentlemen. After her disastrous courting with both the Bulgarian hunk Viktor Krum, and the Boy-Who-Lived Harry Potter, she has now settled her sights on none other than the tall, dark, and handsome Severus Snape...**

_'Tall, dark, and handsome'? Pull yourself together, woman! It's Snape! The man who made your years at Hogwarts hell. Who never said a good word about you!_

_Yes, but lately, he's changed quite a lot, in case you hadn't noticed. He was nothing short of a gentleman to me last night... And he is very handsome in his own unique way.'_

Realizing that her teeth have begun to chatter, Hermione secured the towel around her body and sent one last glare at her reflection before stepping out of the bathroom and making her way to her room, unable to help but tip-toeing near the stairs. She could hear Kreacher in the kitchen cooking a late breakfast. The old elf had said nothing as he walked into the sitting room after hearing the two of them screaming bloody murder. It seemed he knew that it was better to pretend that humans were all crazy and that cooking was much safer.

Straining her ears, she tried to listen for any clue as to whether Professor Snape was still in the house or not. Not being able to hear anything she walked away and opens the door to her room.

She marveled at the fact that she didn't feel tired at all. Even if it had been awkward waking up to find her ex-Professor spooned behind her, she couldn't deny that she had slept like a baby.

Moving towards her dresser she never noticed said ex-Professor crouched down on all fours on the other side of the four poster bed looking for an old box of his belongings and therefore never thought twice about letting her towel drop to the floor as she decided on what to wear for the rest of the day.

Matching blue undergarments, an old pair of jeans and a warm jumper seemed like a good idea.

V(_)V

He hated himself for even acknowledging the fact that he just had the best sleep of his life in months. First, he felt like a pervert after finally being able to remember what happened after they had left the park. Hermi- dammit! Miss Granger should have hexed him silly as soon as they saw he had been hit with that cursed cupid arrow. Of course, her being a Gryffindor had been the sad reality and instead of just locking him in a room until the effects of the arrow passed, she had gone ahead and tried to drug him to sleep, again.

_Maybe she was just trying to have her wicked way with you, his inner voice said. If you tried to confront her on it though, she would have just blamed it on the cupid arrow._

Rolling his eyes at the ridiculous thought, he made his way into the kitchen to try and find a hot cup of coffee. He needed the caffeine in order to think about what had happened the night before and how it could have been avoided. Of course, ignoring the obvious answer, which was: not having left Hogwarts in the first place.

"Would Master of Potions be wanting coffee?" the old house-elf asked.

"Coffee would be greatly appreciated, Kreacher, thank you." He hated how tired he sounded, but he knew that as soon as he's had at least two cups of coffee before the afternoon, everything would be all right.

Soon Kreacher had placed a hot cup of coffee in front of him along with a plate of scones. Nodding his thanks at the elf, Severus grabbed the sugar bowl and puts four spoonfuls into his coffee. _Ha! If anyone knew how I really like my coffee they would probably drop down dead with shock. Everyone thinks I like my coffee black, even Albus thought that was the way I liked it. I just never had the heart to tell the truth to the old man._ Thinking about it, Severus remembered the first time he had sat down for afternoon tea with the Headmaster.

It had been after the demise of Lily and James Potter. Actually, it had been a good five months afterwards. The Headmaster hadn't forced him to join the staff for meals, allowing him to have the kitchen send his meals to his rooms. That had probably been the one thing that the old man got right. He knew the young Potions master wanted to be left alone to mourn the loss of his childhood friend and first love, Lily. It surprised Severus that the old man was able to keep away as long as he did. He had expected Dumbledore to be outside his rooms trying to draw him out into the real world. But he hadn't and Severus had been able to be alone for those five months. Only coming out when it was time to teach class or oversee a detention. Otherwise, he was always alone, as he knew he would always be.

His brain must have had other plans though; for after five months, Dumbledore hadn't been able to resist himself anymore and had invited him to his office for afternoon tea. Severus had been planning on saying no, that he had no wish to socialize with anyone, but instead found himself agreeing to meet the old man in his office later in the evening. He could remember the look of shock on Dumbledore's face, and knew that the old man hadn't expected him to accept the invitation. Though he probably thought that Severus would bail out at the last minute.

Severus was of course right on time, and the two men had sat taken a seat near the fireplace. He remembered how happy Dumbledore seemed at the notion that he had managed to drag Severus out of his 'exile'. The old man had set about making their drinks and had never bothered to ask his young employee if he wanted sugar with his coffee, and had handed it to Severus dark. The young Potions master decided against saying anything since he did not want to think about the disappointment in Dumbledore's face – it was obvious that the old man thought he knew everything about him. That was probably one of the biggest mistakes Dumbledore made, thinking that he knew everything about everyone.

Not wanting to inform his employer of how he actually liked his coffee, he had taken the offered cup of dark coffee and had drank it in silence while Dumbledore went off talking about some complaints the staff has had about the weather.

With a fond smile, Severus remembered returning to his rooms later that evening and seeking out his box of sweets to enjoy a mini sugar binge. Late into the night he was reminded that he no longer had the stomach of a ten-year-old and had to seek a stomach soother from his private stores. He remembered thinking how lucky he had been to have some already made, as he had no wish whatsoever to go to the Hospital Wing to ask Madam Pomfrey for help.

Remembering that incident caused him to wonder where his box of sweets was. He had completely forgotten about it and no doubt if one of the Weasleys had found it, he either had no more sweets or no more box. He knew that the box was at Grimmauld, as it had been one of the few things he had left there, not wanting to take it with him back to Hogwarts where he knew his private rooms would always be targeted. Those belongings had been left in the guest room he had occupied the few times he had stayed at headquarters, but he highly doubted that they would still be in the same room.

"Kreacher?"

The old elf stopped his work to look at the wizard sitting at the table. "Yes, Master of Potions?"

"Were any of the belongings that I left in my room disposed of?"

Kreacher's face scrunched up in concentration, though to Severus it seemed like he was about to pass gas, and thought for a couple of seconds before answering. "No, Kreacher did not throw away anything. Kreacher simply moved things to another room. Is Master of Potions wanting to take his belongings away?"

Setting his empty cup on the table, Severus stood from his seat and nodded at the elf. "Yes, I do. Where are they?"

The odd expression of concentration made its way onto Kreacher's face as he thought about where he had placed those belongings. "Kreacher put them in the guest room on the first floor...hmm...in the last room near the stairs. Yes, that's where Kreacher put things away. Under the bed...the side nearest the window...Yes, that's where everything is."

"Thank you," Severus said.

Walking out the door and upstairs Severus tried to remember what else he had left at Grimmauld Place. He was momentarily distracted as he heard out of tune singing coming from down the same hall. Obviously, Miss Granger had forgotten to place silencing charms while she took a shower. But it was probably for the best, this way he wouldn't risk running into her yet again as he would be able to hear when the water was shut off- and her awful singing end.

He still wasn't quite ready to face her yet.

Finding the room he quickly opened the door and made his way to the opposite side of the bed. He had left everything in a small trunk and was praying that everything was still in there, as he had left it. His box of sweets had been the one his mum had had for him as a child and it was one of the few things he treasured the most from his childhood.

The box wasn't an antique, nor was it a family heirloom. Truth be told, it was actually an old metalic lunch box. His mother had fished it out of the donation bin when he was seven and had used it to hide many thing from Tobias. To the two of them though, it had become the sugar box. His father was the one from whom Severus had inherited his sweet tooth from and never missed a chance to steal whatever sweet his young son had. So, Eileen had brought the box home and disguised it to look like a sewing kit box knowing her husband would never dare touch something he would consider feminine.

Until the day she died, the box hid many things for them. It hid the small rewards Severus won in primary school, as Tobias didn't want proof that his son was a geek and not the son he had always wanted. Small amounts of cash was hidden in the box in case of emergencies, which unfortunately were quite a lot. Whatever small treats Eileen was able to get for her son were also placed within the safe confinements of the box. The last treasure that his mother was able to hide in the box had been a letter to her son. A few days afterwards, she had passed away from the injuries she had received at the hands of her husband.

His mother had never been great one. She had failed her son many times and had never been able to protect him from the hands of evil. One of the few good things she had been able to do for her son was finding that box to allow him to have at least something that would allow him to feel like a child and not a 'freak'. It's probably why Severus had decided to use it as place to store sweets, because it had many happy memories attached to it. He recognized it as one of the few good things in his childhood.

Feeling under the bed, Severus could not reach the small trunk and was forced to stick his head under the bed to try and locate it. It wasn't that small but Kreacher could have placed it in the middle of the bed. Looking under the bed and lighting it with a Lumus all he was able to see was the carpet that covered the rest of the room and a pair of black pumps.

It was then that he realized that he was in the wrong room and he could guess that he was a very dead man.

The door opening and the quiet off tune of a woman humming was his first clue.

A small frame with a picture of people he could only assume were the elder Grangers were his next clue.

Making the mistake of straightening up off the ground and drawing attention to his presence to a very naked Hermione Granger was the final clue.

He could practically hear the bars of an Azkaban cell closing as her eyes widen in fear and she screams bloody murder.

V(_)V

Down stairs in the kitchen, Kreacher was calmly setting the table for breakfast. "Hmmm... That's right, Kreacher forgot he put the Master of Potions things in the attic. Silly Kreacher, it's in the attic, yes it is, not in the guest rooms."

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